Waves of Nostalgia
by Liggycow
Summary: It has been over four years since Piper Chapman left Litchfield Penitentiary and she thinks so much as changed. But as she turns the key in the ignition of her car it's not only the engine she brings to life. Meanwhile back at Litchfield Alex Vause is about to get the one thing she had been dreaming of for years...freedom. Vauseman! Rated T due to the occasional use of language.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, I write this out of pure love for the TV Show 'Orange is the New Black' and the mighty Vauseman!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Replay**

It had been over four years since Piper Chapman walked out of Litchfield Penitentiary as a free woman. She had done her time for a crime from another life and the blonde haired woman who had entered with her fiancé by her side had left alone as a changed woman.

With nowhere to go Piper had to move back into her parents' house, locking herself away in her old bedroom attempting to block out the world around her and the badly hushed observations of her family member's.

 _'Look at her, just skin and bones'_

 _'That poor, messed up girl'_

 _'Why does she not smile anymore, she had a lovely smile_.'

But as they say, time heals all wounds and slowly as days became weeks and weeks became months Piper Chapmans life started to form some resemblance of a time before prison. Friendless and stuck at her parents' house she reached out to Polly and Larry. With a cocktail of guilt, remorse and obligation they patched their broken friendship together, although cracks were still visible and every now and again the glue weakened their friendship held together…just.

After months of rejection letters (who wants a convicted felon working for them?) Piper reluctantly had taken her Father up on his offer and accepted his help. She found herself working in an office, in a little gray, three walled cubical which weirdly felt comforting. So Piper Chapman now spent her days pushing paper from an 'In Tray' to an 'Out Tray'. At least prison had prepared her for the monotony of life.

Eventually after some pay checks started rolling in Piper had moved out of her parents and into her own apartment in the heart of New York City. It was small, cheap and seemed to always smell of mouldy bread but it was hers, it was home.

Life then started to seem normal, on weekends when Pete had Finn, Polly and Larry would come over and they would watch movies and eat take away. She even started dating guys from the office, much to the delight of her mother. After all she had only been 'gay for the stay'.

Happiness had found its way back in Piper's life, the gleam had returned to her blue eyes, her brow was rarely pinched into a frown and the sound of laughter echoed around the small apartment. It may have taken over four years but life was good, life was…normal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Empire State of Mind**

 _'Good morning campers. It's Saturday morning, what are you doing up this early? Let me know via twitter…'_

The radio sprang into life, along with the engine as Piper turned the key in the ignition of her little car. The inane babble of the commercial radio station became background noise as she searched through her bag for her phone. Glancing at the screen she saw a message was waiting for her.

 **Polly:**

 **Good luck today. We both think you are an idiot of agreeing to this. X**

 **Piper:**

 **Thanks Pol. Great to know I have the support of my friends.**

With a disgruntled huff Piper threw her phone onto the passenger seat beside her and pulled off to begin her journey. It was a lovely spring morning; the sun had broken through the early clouds causing the morning chill to fade away. The roads were quiet, or as quiet as it could be in New York City, as Piper's little white Fiat 500 weaved in and out of the yellow taxi cabs.

The radio continued to drone on as the frustratingly happy DJ read out messages from listeners making their dull lives seem almost passable.

 _'Now every Saturday we take you to a different year, so can you guess it?'_

As the song started playing the opening beats started to flood Piper with memories of a time before she knew her past was going to catch up with her.

* * *

 _"Pol, hurry the fuck up!" Piper was shouting at the bathroom door, the shower had stopped ten minutes ago. "I need to pee!"_

 _The bathroom door flew open and Piper was greeted with the tear stained face of her towel clad best friend. Polly had been staying with Piper during her current hiatus with Pete and she was taking this one particularly hard. Pulling Polly into a tight hug, Piper attempted to comfort her friend, knowing from experience it was a futile task. There was going to be a lot of crying and man bashing before the night was out._

 _"Let's go out tonight Pol, just you and me, yeah?"_

 _Pipers blue eyes were searching those of her best friends; a timid nod from the brunet was all she needed._

* * *

 _It was 1am; the two best friends were far from sober as they stumbled from the dance floor to the bar. Piper was taking her heels off again despite already being told twice by security to put them back on._

 _"Fuck them!" She shouted over the music at Polly as she had yet another shot._

 _"Yeah! And fuck Pete!" Polly's words were slurred as she toyed with the full shot glass on the bar._

 _"Fuck all men!"_

 _Piper shouted louder, getting a few looks from the other patrons of the night club. The two friends leaned up against each other giggling._

 _"I am so glad you are not a Lesbian any more Pipes. I hated that bitch face Alex!"_

 _"Me too, come on let's dance I love this song!"_

 _Reluctantly Polly drank the shot and followed her friend to the dance floor. Piper was already swaying to the music and as the song reached the chorus the whole dance floor erupted into song._

 _"In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there nothing you can't do now you're in New York!"_

* * *

 _The lights had gone up in the night club and cheesy pop music was now being played in an attempt to empty the building. It has been one of the best nights out in Pipers life. The twenty-nine year old was desperately clinging onto youth, fearful of the dreaded three zero that was fast approaching. Polly too seemed to have had a good time and apparently had forgotten all about Pete as she was making out with a boy who must have been at least ten years younger than her._

 _Waiting patiently next to her friend holding her coat and bag Piper glanced around the gaggles of people and that was when she spotted a person in the crowd that made her heart stop. Long raven hair, thick black rimmed glasses and the bottom of a tattoo showing from beneath the sleeve of her right arm, there was no mistaking her. It was Alex._

 _Piper's mouth went dry as her chest grew tight, before she knew what she was doing her legs were carrying her towards the woman, she had not seen since Paris. Reaching out with a shaking hand Piper gently touched the woman's shoulder. "Alex?" her voice was soft, and searching, almost fearful of the response she was about to get._

 _"Who's Alex?" Piper was stunned, she had been expecting that deep voice which used to send shivers down her spine; instead she was greeted with quite the opposite. The girl with the high pitched voice and brown eyes looked quizzically at Piper._

 _"S-sorry" Piper stuttered as she quickly walked away, her cheeks turning a deep red in embarrassment. What had she been thinking, even if that was Alex what would she have done? Quickly grabbing the arm of her best friend Piper pulled Polly away from the kid and led her out of the night club._

 _"Fuck Pipes, what was that for!" Polly huffed at her friend, snatching her belongings off her, however it did not take the brunet long to realise that something was bothering Piper._

 _"Spill Chapman, what's up?"_

* * *

The sound of a bus honking its horn snapped Piper out of her daydream. The radio was now playing info commercials and she was most defiantly stuck in a traffic jam and not drunk off tequila in a night club.

At the time it had been six years since she had last seen Alex and it still shocked Piper even to this day how much that incident had rocked her to the core. It should have been a sign that things would never truly be over between them. But hindsight is a powerful thing and the drunken Piper from eight years ago could not have possibly imagined what her future self would have been through.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Need You Now**

The little white Fiat 500 continued its journey north, the traffic was steadily getting heavier and the sign of approaching roadworks caused Piper to exhale deeply. The long journey was only about to get worse. At least she still had the radio for company.

 _'This was the year of the Winter Olympics in Canada and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts at the Super Bowl.'_

The radio continued to ramble on about sporting events as the traffic slowly ground to a halt.

 _'It was also the year that Lady Antebellum reminded us all about the_ _power of the late night phone call.'_

There were a few things Piper Chapman had experience for the first time while dating Alex Vause and the uncontrollable desire and need for each other even after an argument was one that even today she still had troubles mastering.

* * *

 _"You are a lying, manipulative bitch!" Piper spat the last word as she faced off against Alex who was standing tall, arms crossed, looking directly at Piper._

 _"Tell me something I don't know Piper!"_

 _Piper hated the confidence Alex had whenever they argued; it was a defence mechanism that worked well._

 _"Fuck you Alex!"_

 _Piper snapped back, knowing her argument was on shaky ground and the raven haired woman was not budging, in fact she was laughing. This just got under Pipers skin even more and without a second thought she snatched her bag off the coffee table and stormed out the front door giving Alex the finger as she left._

 _Flying out of their temporary apartment building Piper found herself on the familiar streets of New York City. Her mind was a swirling mess of emotions and she knew to prevent herself from crumbling straight back into the arms of Alex Vause she needed to get out of their quickly. Pulling her phone out of her jeans she quickly typed in the ever so familiar number of her best friend._

 _"Hey Piper, you okay?"_

 _"Can I come and crash at yours?" The anger in her voice was subsiding and instead the all too familiar feelings of heart break started to kick in. Her voice wavered as the threat of tears started to prickle in her eyes and Piper could feel the looks of passers-by as the world rushed on about her._

 _"Shit, what has that Vause bitch done now?"_

 _"Nothing, it's me Polly, I – can I come over?"_

 _"Of course Pipes you never have to ask."_

 _Although Polly had called her 'Pipes' way before Alex was even on the scene Piper could not help but feel that was her pet name and it always seemed weird for someone else to use it. A tinge of guilt tugged at Piper as she glanced over her shoulder and back to the door of the apartment building, half hoping and expecting to see Alex standing there…the doorway was empty._

 _"Thanks Pol, I will be over now."_

* * *

 _Night had fallen and Polly had pulled out all the stops in an attempt to cheer up her best friend. But watching Dirty Dancing, eating pizza and drinking two bottles of white wine had not worked. Even reminiscing about all their ex's had failed and that was normally the key to making Piper howl with laughter over their previous mistakes, but this time there had been nothing. All evening it had been hard for Piper to ignore her phone; although it never buzzed she kept drifting to it, flipping it open to see if she had missed a message or accidently turned it onto silent the last time she checked. There had been nothing from Alex._

 _"I am going to bed Piper. Will you be okay with the sofa?"_

 _"Yeah, thanks Pol." It was a very distracted answer, as once again the blondes focus was on her phone.  
_

 _It had gone midnight and Piper was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. Her parting words to Alex kept floating around in her head, it had not been their first fight and it would not be their last. She loved Alex Vause and no matter what was said in the heat of the moment it would soon be forgotten; at least that is how it had always been in the past._

 _Sleep continued to avoid her no matter how often she closed her eyes and told herself to sleep she could only see Alex. It was no use, she had lost all control, and she needed to hear Alex's voice reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. Reaching for her phone Piper's hands had only just clasped around it as the phone started to vibrate in her hands. The name that flashed on the screen brought a smile to her face. The deep,_ _sensual_ _voice spoke first._

 _"Pipes, please tell me you are alright, where are you?"_

 _"Al, I am fine."_

 _"Where are you?"_

 _"You are always so demanding."_

 _Piper could almost imagine the eyebrow rise at her last comment. She could hear the low rumble of Alex's laugh down the phone. She was so sexy. Why was lying here on Polly's sofa and not in bed next to her girlfriend._

 _There was a comfortable silence on the phone. Piper carried on staring at the ceiling, a thousand and one thoughts where racing through her head but she could not think of one suitable thing to say, fortunately Alex broke the deadlock first._

 _"I am sorry Piper-"Alex paused, it was rare she was lost for words. "- for everything"_

 _"Don't Alex, you –"Piper took a deep breath "-you are the best thing that ever happened to me, I do not regret a second I have spent with you."_

 _Piper could almost hear her smile down the phone._

 _"I love you Pipes. Come back to me, I need you, now."_

 _The low growl in Alex's voice sent Pipers heart into flux, Vause was always in control and Piper guessed that was the way it was always going to be. Jumping up off the sofa Piper started to hunt around for her belongs, slipping her shoes on and snatching up her bag._

 _"I will be with you in fifteen minutes Al, I promise."_

 _"I will be waiting."_

 _Piper cancelled the call, stuffed her phone into her bag and hurried out of Polly's apartment to catch a cab back into the arms of her girlfriend._

* * *

The traffic started moving again and Piper drifted back to reality, forgetting about nights long ago and the safe embrace of Alex Vause. She often thought about how different life would have been if she had not left Alex in Paris. Maybe they would have found their happily ever after, or if not that maybe made a few more memories before their ultimate demise. When Piper left on that fateful morning shit was getting serious and eventually they would have both ended up in Prison surly, after all if Alex had not named her then someone else would have done.

Alex had told her once that _'Life is one crazy ass bitch.'_ And at the time Piper had always seen it as a throw away statement made by someone who had had one too many shots of Sambuca, but now it had started to make sense. The universe had brought them back together again as if their story was yet to finish.

Piper's hands tighten around the steering wheel as she tried to regain her composure. The tugging feeling in her heart had started again, the same feeling she always got when it came to Alex Vause. It was like a bungee cord that connected the two of them had stretched as far as possible and the taut rope was simply waiting for one of them to loosen their hold to bring them crashing back into each other once again.

Piper let go!

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone so far for all the story follows, it means a lot to me. I would love to hear from you so please do leave reviews and let me know what you think and how I could improve. Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: One Time**

A wave of relief swept over Piper as the realisation set in that she was doing the right thing. The look of determination was clear on her face as she powered through the gears as she entered yet another freeway northbound.

Over the babble of the radio she could hear her phone buzzing on the passenger seat where she had recklessly threw it earlier. Quickly snatching it up she glanced down to answer and put it on speaker.

"An inmate from Litchfield Federal Prison is attempting to contact you. To accept the call, please press one."

Quickly Piper brought up the keypad and hit one.

"Hello!" She shouted over the noise of the road and the radio.

"Jesus Pipes, no need to yell."

The voice she was greeted with was playful; Piper could visualize the dark haired woman's perfect lips forming into an irresistible smile. The blonde knew why the voice at the other end of the phone line was so happy, but she was going to play along for a bit.

"Guess what?" Alex questioned.

"Last night was finally taco night?" They both laughed at the in joke of Nicky's, as weird as it sounded Piper did miss the old crowd.

"I wish! Honestly Pipes the first thing I am going to eat when I get out of this place is a huge steak with a mountain of fries."

"Oh, I kind of hoped you would want to eat something else first." Piper put a tint of fake disappointment on her statement.

At first there was no response; Piper could almost see Alex looking around at the other inmates who were on the phones next to her, checking for any sign of a reaction in case they had overheard the comment.

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman." Alex's voice was a low, seductive whisper. "I thought we were just friends."

"We were never friends Alex."

There was yet another pause on the end of the phone, had Piper been in a quieter environment she would have been able to hear every breath of Alex's. Piper had purposely chosen her words to match that of Alex's from four years ago knowing that the memories of the Laundry Room incident would be flooding over the both of them. It brought a smile to her face knowing that even over the phone she could render Alex speechless, after all their relationship was all about control.

 _'Thirty Seconds remaining.'_ The pre-recorded voice broke the silence.

"Shit"

"You could not have put more credit on?"

"I didn't see the point." Alex moaned, the frustration levels clear in her voice. "Piper, promise me you will be here."

"I promise Al."

"Thanks Pipes, I l-"

The phone line went dead. Piper swore at the top of her lungs, cursing the rubbish prison phones and their credit eating tendencies. Why could it have not let Alex finish her sentence? Piper knew what she hoped the last words were, but she had learnt to never assume anything when it came to Alex.

* * *

 _It had been a month since the incident in the greenhouse and Stella being sent to Max and although the day to day prison life had not changed the way people interacted with Piper had. By attempting to become the king pin by her brutal actions Piper had done the one thing she feared the most, she had alienated herself. Nobody trusted her anymore, the numbers of women in the Pantie business had nosedived, a bit of money was not worth a re-homing into Max. So she sat alone in the cafeteria at breakfast, eating a watery mess that should have been porridge, scrutinizing the back of Alex Vause's head. They had not spoken more than three words together since Alex had returned from the medical unit. That is not to say that Piper had not tried, but wherever Alex went somebody else was always with her._

 _Today her bodyguard was Big Boo who was one of the few girls left in the Pantie business; this gave Piper a bit of leverage._

 _As Boo and Alex stood up after finishing their breakfast Piper quickly followed them out of cafeteria, staying a couple of paces behind at all times. She weaved in and out of the crowds and followed them into 'The Suburbs' Bathroom, thanking the gods that Boo was alone leaning against the sinks, her arms folded and her head down._

 _"Boo, can I have a word." Piper kept her voice quiet to make sure Alex could not hear them in the toilet cubical in front of them._

 _"I dropt my last pair off this morning Chapman" Boo looked at Piper defensively._

 _"I don't care about that; I need to speak to Alex-" Piper met Boo's gaze "-alone."_

 _"It will cost ya." A smile played across Big Boo's face as she knew she would be able to get something out of this. With tongue in cheek Boo laid her cards on the table. "Give me $15 per pair."_

 _"What!" Piper's voice rose a little too loud and she glanced nervously at the toilet cubical that housed Alex. "How about $10 per pair?"_

 _"No deal then Chapman." Big Boo turned away and leaned back against the sink once more. The sound of the toilet flushing signalled that their negotiations were drawing to a close._

 _"Fine, $13 per pair and that is my final offer." Piper's eyes pleaded with Boo as the sound of the door unlocking seemed to echo around the almost deserted bathroom._

 _"You've got yourself a deal blondie." Boo quickly dived into a toilet cubical, as she turned to shut the door she held up her hand to indicate Piper had 5 minutes._

 _The surprise on Alex's face was obvious as she left the toilet, where she had been expecting to see Big Boo she now saw Piper. Her brow pinched into a frown as she approached the sinks, giving a quick sideways glance at the woman next to her._

 _"Alex…"_

 _"Piper if you are coming here looking for forgiveness you might as well save your breath."_

 _Alex's tone was abrasive; she didn't have any time for Pipers bullshit today. Piper watched as Alex aggressively washed her hands as she tried to figure out how to put her mess of thoughts and emotions into words. Back in the cafeteria she had so much she wanted to say but now in person all the words seemed stuck in her throat._

 _"No…I-I want to know how you are?"_

 _"Why the fuck should you care?"_

 _Alex turned off the tap and as she turned to look at Piper she instantly started to regret the words. Pipers face seemed haunted, she clearly had not been sleeping or eating properly and it hurt Alex to see Piper like this, but the pain Piper had caused was still too raw for Alex to let this one slide so soon._

 _"Look Piper, when I needed you during all the fucked up shit with Lolly and Kubra you turned your back on me and ran into the arms of the first woman that smiled at you. Once again you are alone and your first instinct is to run back to me and you think because I love you I will take you back. Well you are wrong Piper, I am not an idiot."_

 _Alex knew she could not stay, the longer she stayed the more her resolve would weaken. After everything they had been through it was always Piper that caused the pain, she would leave, pick someone else, well no more. With a steely look of determination Alex walked over to the cubical door where Boo was hiding and rapidly knock on before walking out of the bathroom, leaving Piper staring dumbfounded in her wake._

* * *

 _It was another couple of weeks before Piper tried to talk to Alex again. Her little band of body guards were starting to grow lax as rumours started to spread through the prison that Aydin had been caught. Piper had worked out that the best time to talk to Alex would be in an evening, when she was alone in her bunk reading. The only problem was once again the words seemed to get lost in her throat and she just kept walking past Alex, to the bathroom and then back to her own bunk. After the fourth time Alex had had just about enough, she put her book down and pushed her glasses up on top of her head._

 _"What's with the weak bladder Chapman?" The use of her last name seemed abnormal, almost as if it had been used to set their boundaries._

 _"Oh no." Piper laughed nervously, unnaturally. "I – erm- I have books." She pointed in the general direction of her cube without taking her eyes off Alex who seemed unimpressed by the statement and simply put her glasses back on and picked up her book. "That's nice."_

 _Reluctantly Piper walked back to her cube conceding defeat._

* * *

 _They spent another week avoiding each other, timing it so they would never be in the bathroom at the same time or that one of them would be finishing their food just as the other was entering. It was fucked up, but then everything about their relationship had and would always be so._

 _Then one evening when Piper was sitting on her bunk reading she heard the dull sound of footsteps approaching. Glancing up briefly she half expected to see on of Red's 'daughters' dropping by, but instead it was Alex. Keen to make a good impression Piper swung her legs off the bunk to give Alex somewhere to sit but the tall, dark haired woman didn't seem interested in staying long._

 _"I heard you have books."_

 _Piper thought she could see a small smile tug at the corner of Alex's mouth as she spoke, but maybe she was imagining things, her mind willing things to be different between the two of them._

 _"Yeah, once Cal found out about the Library he keeps sending me any book he can find for less than a dollar."_

 _Piper pointed to the stacks of books scattered around her cube, they were all thin paper backs, spines cracked, dog eared and some water damaged with questionable stains but it was better than nothing. Alex's green eyes glided over the stacks of books, her head titling to one side as she tried to make out the titles on the damaged spines._

 _"Do you have any recommendations?"_

 _With a small smile of satisfaction that Alex was actually talking to her Piper stood up from her bunk and wondered over to a pile of books on top of her locker. Carefully removing the third book from the top she handed Alex a rather battered looking book, on the front cover was a picture of a man and a woman in a swimming pool in a rather intimate embrace._

 _"Boardroom rivals bedroom fireworks."_

 _Piper could hear the cynicism in Alex's voice as she turned the book over to read the blurb on the back._

 _"I have been reliably informed that this is a good read, although unfortunately the female lead is straight."_

 _"Oh we both know I have a thing for straight girls."_

 _Alex looked up from the book and locked eyes with Piper. The smile that played across her face was infectious and for the briefest moment Piper forgot about their current rut, she had forgot that they were meant to be avoiding each other and not talking and that she really should not be standing this close to Alex. Breaking contact with those hypnotic emerald eyes Piper stepped backwards into her locker, causing one of the many piles of books to topple over. 'Smooth Chapman.'_

 _With a small laugh Alex had turned and left Pipers cube with the cheap little book still in her possession._

* * *

 _"So this is the kind of book that your_ _A_ _unty Betty would read as the fire in her marriage to Uncle Bob has died?"_

 _Alex sat down on the grass next to Piper. It was a beautiful autumn day, the sun was warm and the light breeze that rustled through the trees around them helped to almost create an illusion that they were not in prison. Piper put down her own book and looked at Alex who she had pushed her glasses up into her hair and was looking out over the running track where they sat._

 _"Well, I don't think mature women read those kinds of books for the multi layered characters Al. Besides, I know after thirty years Aunty Betty and Uncle Bob still go at it like rabbits."_

 _"Ew, gross Pipes."_

 _The two looked at each other and shared a small laugh, everything was starting to feel natural again, nothing was forced, nothing was fake it was just the two of them._

* * *

The whinny voice of a prepubescent Justin Bieber filled the car as Piper glanced over at a road sign to see she had traveled 15 miles without focusing on what she was doing. Alex was all that filled her mind and every memory brought a wave of uncontrollable emotions that made her feel alive.

It was probably the first (and only) time in her life that Piper Chapman would listen to a Justin Bieber song and feel a connection to the lyrics.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thank you again to everyone for your reviews and follows. It has given me the motivation to get this chapter completed and put up for you all. I may have got a bit carried away but I like it, I hope you do too._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Tik Tok**

"Piper, promise me you will be here."

"I promise Al."

"Thanks Pipes, I love you."

The phone line had gone dead; in pure frustration Alex slammed the black phone handset into the battered metal holder on the wall. Her actions got a warning yell from the guard on duty to which Alex quickly responded too in silence by lifting both her arms up in the air in an act of surrender. She could not afford any silly slip-ups now, not now she were so close. Still with her hands in the air she began to walk away, using all of her will power to keep herself from giving the CO the middle finger. She only needed to get through four hours, she had done six years, surly these hours would go by in the blink of an eye.

Wondering back to her cube Alex ducked under the top bunk and sat down with her back against the white breeze block wall. For the majority of her stay in Litchfield these walls had been bare, however now it was a sea of colour due to a collection of photographs and letters. Carefully Alex started pulling them off them the wall, taking her time to study each photo and read every letter for the hundredth time.

On her departure from prison and return to her parents' house Piper claimed to have found a shoe box full of old photos and mementoes of their time together. Alex had found this strange as in her mind a box full of memories of your ex-girlfriend was not something that you forgot about easily, or at least she would not have done had she any possessions to be worth remembering. For a while every letter that Piper had sent through had contained a photo of their past lives, couplie photos of them standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, on beaches in the Seychelles or walking down snow covered streets.

"Hey Vause, did you get a hold of Chapman?"

An upside down head appeared from the bunk above, the out of control hair blocking Nicky's face.

"Yeah..."

Alex was distracted, her mind taken take to the time in the photo.

* * *

 _They walked down the cobbled streets of Paris, their hands interlocked, taking in the sights and sounds of the French city. They talked idle chit chat as couples do about simple things of no consequence but to themselves._

 _Eventually they found themselves standing by the Eiffel Tower, the night lights illuminating the magnificent structure before them._

 _"Pipes, do you know what today is?"_

 _As Pipers blue eyes searched her face Alex could feel her heart rate increase. Even after all this time she was still as besotted with Piper as she had been that first night in the bar. In all of her life she had never thought that she would be in a long term relationship, but when she was with Piper everything felt her previous preconceptions of love and romance had vanished and manifested into a deeper, more powerful emotion that no adrenaline boosting thrill or illegal high could ever compare too. Nothing made Alex's heart beat faster, nothing brought a smile to her face more than Piper Chapman. If the Alex Vause from five years past could see her now she would not have believed it, heck present day Alex could not believe it._

 _"I know Al, one year today."_

 _With a small smile Alex pulled Piper around in a little circle so that they were standing face to face._

 _"It's been a ride kid."_

 _"Sounds like you are breaking up with me."_

 _"Never Pipes."_

 _The end of Alex's sentence became muffled as her lips met Pipers and under the glow of the city lights they kissed. Alex's arms wrapped themselves protectively around Pipers thin frame, pulling their two bodies together. Alex could not remember feeling happier, her body was on edge and even the slightest touch from Piper sent electric currents right through her body._

 _Everything was perfect._

* * *

There was a sudden impact at the side of Alex's head snapping her out of her memory of romance and Piper and into the real, bland coloured word of the prison dormitory.

"Yo Vause, I asked you a question. It's only good manners to respond you know."

Nicky had thrown the pillow from the top bunk right into the side of Alex's face, clearly unimpressed that her friend was ignoring her. Although she was not stunned from the impact of the pillow Alex still did not respond to Nicky, her mind was still pleasantly engaged in memories of her day travelling the world with her companion.

"Fuck you then Vause."

Nicky jumped down from the top bunk with a thud and walked out of the cube, she did not bother to look over her shoulder as she continued to talk to Alex.

"Guess I need to get used to you not being here anyway."

"Nic…"

"I said fuck you!"

Nicky's was gone, although Alex knew her ill temper would not last long the scruffy haired rouge didn't have long to get over of it. Glancing at the clock that was about the CO's window Alex watched the second had tick around. It was almost time, D-day was approaching.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry it is a shortish chapter, the next one will be longer I promise. Thank you to everyone who has Followed, Favorited and Reviewed so far it really does help to keep me motivated!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Whataya Want From Me**

The unrelenting radio continued to play as the mile counter in Piper's little Fiat 500 rhythmically ticked over as she progressed northwards through the state. The background noise of another TV talent show product filled the air around her with words of hope and determination to make love work. Maybe after all these years Piper had experienced too much of life, living through so many highs and lows had eroded away the shine and wonder of life and had turned her into a bitter old crone.

The lights of the city were far behind Piper; she was now driving by grassy fields and outcrops of trees and the clear blue sky framed the horizon making the view almost postcard worthy. It had become a familiar four hour drive over the recent years as she retraced her steps back to Litchfield to go and see her old friends, or at least one particular 'friend'. It has become a tradition that once a month (sometimes twice) Piper would go and visit Alex in Prison and although it started out as something she did out of obligation her trips to Litchfield turned into the highlight of her month.

During some visits they would talk until they were hoarse, while others they would eat their way through a bag of chips while playing cards acting like nothing had changed and they were both sitting in the mess room in their khaki uniform. However it had not always been this way, Piper remembered the first couple of years of visits and how tenses and awkward they had been and it was not for the first time in this journey that Piper was lost into a sea of memories.

* * *

 ** _The First Visit_**

 _Piper felt weird; it was like driving past your childhood home and seeing other people living in it that were not your family. Everything seemed different. Even sitting in the visitation room, an area that she had known so well felt different, she watched her old inmates walk in, some offering small waves, others giving her accusing looks. That was when Alex entered and Piper realised that niggling pain that she thought was depression turned out to have been longing, her heart had been pining for Alex._

 _They greeted each other with a loose hug and as they sat down opposite each other Alex could barely bring herself to look at Piper. She knew it would be hard for the both of them, Piper could remember the one time that Alex had visited her when their roles were reversed and how weird that had felt. Alex had made the comment that she felt like she was wearing the wrong clothes and Piper now understood where she was coming from._

 _It had taken Piper almost four hours to get to the prison today but she had been up for just as long before the drive trying to decide what to trying on various outfits and combinations of skirts, dresses and trousers she had decided to go for the simple jeans and t-shirt._

 _"You look nice Piper; I forgot how much colour suited you."_

 _Piper could feel her cheeks grow warm from the compliment handed to her by her ex-girlfriend, they had agreed after everything that had gone down between them that they would still be friends, or whatever their weird hybrid version of friendship was._

 _"I am sorry it took me so long to come and visit Al."_

 _"It's okay; you know from experience how quickly three months passes in this place."_

 _Sarcasm dripped from every syllable as Alex's right eyebrow rose in her characteristic way. It seemed that already they were about to fall into their usual routine of trying to outdo the other. Trying to remain calm Piper didn't take the bait and tried to change the subject immediately._

 _Their time together slowly passed, talking idly about prison life while Alex attempt to gleam some information about Piper's life in the outside world. Piper was not very forthcoming with this information; she didn't want Alex to know that her 'new' life was more depressing then her time inside Prison._

 _Eventually the moment came when the guard on duty announced that their time was over. The sound of the wooden chair legs scrapping on cheap lino sounded out around the small visiting room and grudgingly Alex and Piper ended their conversation. Following suit the two stood up and stepped out from behind their sides of the little plastic table, both hung back not knowing how to say goodbye to the other. Alex took the first step, moving closer to Piper and went for another loose hug. Piper responded putting her arms around Alex but was taken aback when Alex gently kissed her cheek._

 _"See you soon Pipes."_

 _She muttered in her low sexy voice before letting go and walking out of the visitation room. Piper was as still as a statue, her cheek tingled where Alex had kissed her and she just watched the tall raven haired woman walk away from her._

* * *

 ** _The Fourth Visit_**

 _"What do you mean she is not available?"_

 _Piper stared at the guard from over the reception counter. She was new; it had only been seven months since she had been in prison but already there were new faces._

 _"Sorry Ms Chapman but she is in the SHU, you can't have visitors if you are in the SHU."_

 _Piper closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she knew she could not get angry at the guard after all it was not her fault. The only person who was to blame for this was Alex._

* * *

 ** _The Fifth Visit_**

 _They had not said a word to each other yet, when Alex had walked into the visitation room Piper had remained sitting. And that was how they stayed, arms folded, straight backs not even looking at each other. Whenever Piper caught a fleeting glance of Alex it looked like she was biting her tongue, obviously trying not to say the wrong thing. Eventually Piper attempted to find the right words, she knew she needed to stay calm and as non-confrontational as possible, but that was not as easy as it sounded when it came to Alex._

 _"So, what did you do?"_

 _"It's fucking bullshit Pipes. Healy had me thrown in because apparently I shrunk his favourite jumper in the wash."_

 _Piper knew that Alex has been moved back into the Laundrette after the incident of the Greenhouse and it didn't surprise her either that Healy would act so rashly but there was something about the way Alex was speaking made her think she was not giving her the whole truth._

 _"Apparently…did you Al?"_

 _Piper looked at Alex with a look of suspicion; she knew that Alex didn't really make mistakes, there had to be more behind it. Piper watched as Alex looked around the waiting room before she leaned forward, dropping her voice into a low hush in the hope that no prying ears could listen in._

 _"You spent fifteen months in here Piper; you know how much of an ass hole he is. He overstepped his mark and the bastard deserved it."_

 _"Ooo shrinking a jumper Vause, you are one evil bitch."_

 _Small smiles spread across their faces and Piper reached out and touched Alex's hand that was resting on the table; instinctively Alex's hand quickly wrapped itself around Piper's and the two looked deep into each other's eyes and that was how they remained for several minutes, the silence that had befallen them was comfortable and reassuring. Alex's thumb traced lazy circles on Pipers hand. Eventually the hum of noise from the other tables started to penetrate their little bubble and once more Piper took control of their conversation and decided it was time to break the silence, after all she had not traveled this far just to look into those hypnotic green eyes of Alex._

 _"Try not to get in trouble again Alex."_

 _"Bit rich coming from 'The Queen of the SHU'"_

 _Piper shot Alex a warning glare, she was trying to be serious and here was Alex smirking away at the little joke she had made on the other side of the table._

 _"I am serious Al, if we aim for early release-"_

 _"We?"_

 _Alex could not help but a laugh at Pipers little plan, it may have been okay looking from the outside in but clearly she had forgotten what it was little to be trapped within these four walls._

 _"Yes, 'we'. I want you back by my side Al, we are a team remember."_

 _Alex shook her head causing her dark hair to fall down over her face. She was not in disagreement with Piper or the blonde's desire for them both to be together again, but she needed to shake away the memories and the doubt that cloud her mind that always crept over her as she lay in her bunk alone at night. Piper was free living her life, Alex was still an animal in a cage, counting down the days of her captivity._

 _"Time everyone, please say your goodbyes and visitors exit in an orderly manner."_

 _The two looked at each other with the same exasperated expression, it felt like no time had passed and yet here they were. Standing up they looked at one another, their mood a little more downbeat then on previous visits. They gave each other a one armed hug but as Alex leaned in to kiss Piper on the cheek the blonde turned her head so instead of Pipers soft cheek it was her lips that Alex made contact with. Her surprise quickly faded as their kiss depend and their bodies closed the short gap between each other. Desire started to spread over their bodies as Alex's hands instinctively cupped Pipers cheeks while the blonde's hands moved their way down Pipers back._

 _"Inmate! That's enough!"_

 _The barking orders of the guard echoed around the small visitation room and with a groan Piper broke off their kiss ad stepped slightly away from Alex, her whole body was screaming out for her and she could not bring herself to break full contact with her._ Piper rested her forehead against Alex's and she could not remove the smile from her face and it seemed that Alex was having the same issue.

 _"I will see you soon Pipes."_

 _With another quick kiss Piper walked away, looking over her shoulder longingly at Alex._

* * *

That was the start or you could say continuation of their on and off again relationship. Even when they were locked in the same prison together it had been hard for them to keep a successful relationship going, being apart like this only seemed to make matters worse. As a result nothing was ever defined, there had never been another high school style question of "will you be my girlfriend", it was just expected they would inevitably find each other again.

Pipers Grandma had always told her that you had a path in life to follow and although you may stray off the beaten track from time to time you would always find your way back on it. Piper had always thought that her time with Alex traveling around the world was time off her path, lost in the wilderness but now it seemed that she had been wrong all this time. Alex was her path; she was her purpose in life, the direction she had to follow to get home.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you everyone for your continued support, it has helped me a lot this chapter as I have not enjoyed writing this one. I have the next 3 chapters hand written out in my notepad, I simply just could not get over the hurdle of pesky chapter 6. Anyway, thank you again I do love hearing from you so please do leave a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Misery**

Alex remained on her bunk, legs crossed and her back against the off white cinder block wall, her long black hair fell down over her shoulders hiding the top of her khaki shirt. She had given up watching the clock and instead was now attempting to read one of the cheap books that Piper had left behind but her focus was not on the passionless drivel on the ageing paper, it was stuck on the previous owner of the book who was hopefully waiting for her on the other side of the fence.

The dorm was quiet; all the other women were either at 'work' or enjoying the first of the warm spring sun. Alex knew she should be outside but she did not want to miss her call, if she stayed sitting on her bunk then they could not miss her.

Giving reading up as a bad job Alex put the book down and pushed her glasses up onto the top of her head. Closing her eyes Alex leaned her head back against the wall and sinking back into a whirlpool of nostalgia.

* * *

 _Since the day Alex had walked back into Litchfield wearing orange she knew this day would come. After all compared to her eight year sentence Pipers fifteen months was a walk in the proverbial park. As Pipers release date grew closer it had been a bone of contention between the two of them and even now on Pipers last night they still fought._

 _"If you had not got fucking Larry to call that lazy assed parole officer –"_

 _"What Alex?! We both know you would be dead."_

 _Alex scoffed at Pipers statement, even after everything that had happened she still used Kubra's attempts to kill her for her own benefits._

 _"Don't you dare portray your selfish actions as a gesture of kindness"_

 _The two of them were face to face, their noses were almost touching and had they not been surrounded by their friends Alex would have pushed Piper up against the wall and said a proper goodbye. Luckily for them and the other inmates Nicky broke the tension between the two by bursting into the cube with armfuls of snacks and drinks._

 _"Shit, did I miss the show?"_

 _She was greeted with silence and nervous looks as Piper and Alex stepped away from each other. Alex knew she should not have snapped, but her emotions were running at peak levels, any moment she felt like she would either break down in tears or lash out uncontrollably. It was not just the fear of being alone, her sheer stubbornness would not let her act the way Piper did, but she loved that horses ass of a woman and the thought of living six years without her, their only meeting being in the sterile conditions of the waiting room was not worth comprehending._

 _Everyone started to take a seat on the bunks in the cube with Alex and Piper choosing to sit on opposite beds, finding it hard to bring themselves to look at one another while Nicky started to pass around bags of chips, pretzels and candy. With glee the other inmates ripped into the packaging, cheers echoing around the dormitory._

 _"So Chapman, where you stayin' when you got out of this place."_

 _Nicky's words were barely audible as her mouth was crammed with marshmallows. Piper paused before putting a pretzel in her mouth, a small frown spreading across her features._

 _"I either go live with my parents or stay with my old best friend and ex-finance. It's a tough choice."_

 _There was a mummer of agreement with the other inmates, many knowing what it felt like to have your life turned upside down and left with nothing after prison. Alex knew this only too well; when she eventually got out she would have nothing, no family, no friends, it would just be here in the big bad world. The conversation drifted on with people stating what what part of freedom they are looking forward too and what the first thing they would do when they get out. They also discussed what they would miss about life in prison however_ _Piper did not answer this question, and for the first time since they had all sat down she locked eyes with Alex. It was with this look Alex knew that Piper was feeling the same way as her, that all the smiles and laughter was just a front._

 _Eventually after much merriment and eating everyone slowly drifted out of the cube, even the rest of Pipers bunk mates seemed to vanish leaving Alex and Piper alone._

 _They were silent for a moment, sitting on the bunk beds opposite one another simply looking at each other, small smiles playing on their faces but nothing could hide the sorrow that was present in both of their eyes._

 _"I really am going to miss you Al."_

 _Alex didn't try to find any words, she knew they would either get lost in translation or make her seem needy and pathetic, and that was not how she wanted Piper to remember her by. So instead Alex stood up and walked over to the other bed, sitting down close to Piper and taking a hold of her hand. Their fingers interlocked and Alex's thumb stroked gentle circles on the back of Pipers hand, it was familiar and comforting and it would be the simple contact such as this that Alex would miss the most. A gentle touch on her arm, Piper brushing her dark hair away from her face and the sweetest of kisses on her cheek._

 _"I will miss you too Piper. This place isn't going to be the same without you kid."_

 _They turned to look at each other, blue eyes met green and the normal feeling of warmth that spread through Alex whenever she looked upon Piper's face was not present, instead she felt sick to her stomach with nerves and disgust as to what she was about to do. P_ _ushing her glasses up into her hair, Alex blinked slowly at the love of her life and took a deep, shaky breath._

 _"I love you Piper, but I – "_

 _Alex hesitated as she heard her own voice waver; she needed to be strong for the both of them. She was doing the right thing, it was the only thing to do considering the circumstances._

 _"We both know this will have to come to an end, you cannot put your like on hold for another six years."_

 _Piper opened her mouth to argue but quickly closed it again. Alex could see from the lines making their way across her forehead as she pieced the jigsaw together and reluctantly the blonde nodded her head, resigning herself to the fat that Alex was right._

 _"I will write and visit Al, I promise."_

 _But Alex was not listening, she had let go of Pipers hand and raised her own to cup the side of Pipers face before crashing their lips together. Piper responded immediately, wrapping her arms around Alex, pulling her closer and then down as Piper fell backwards onto her pillow. The two lay side by side lost in each other's embrace and kiss. But b_ _efore they could get too lost in each other there was a cough at the entrance of the cube. It was one of the newer female guards who kept looking nervously over at CO bubble then back to the two women._

 _"Vause! Chapman! You know you can't do this."_

 _The two prisoners lay on the bunk looking at each other, at first Alex could not help but smirk like a teenager who had just been busted by their Mom, but the look of horror in Pipers eyes quickly shut Alex up. Any mister-meaner now might mean that tonight's little goodbye party would have been in vain._

 _Alex sat up and quickly jumped off the bunk and approached the guard, trying to keep her voice and low and calm as possible. If there was a fall to be taken then Alex was going to make sure that she was the one to take it and not Piper._

 _"Sorry, we were just saying goodbye."_

 _"I fully appreciate that inmate, just doing my job."_

 _The guard started to walk away before hesitating and looking back at the two women who seemed to be frozen in time. With a small smile the guard took a few steps backwards and dropped her voice low so that nobody else in the dormitory could hear them._

 _"I hear the chapel is nice at this time of night."_

 _Before the sound of the guard's boots had even faded away Piper was up on her feet and grabbing hold of Alex's hand. It was almost a carbon copy of when Piper was first released from the SHU, the blonde leading the way with the dark haired woman behind. As they burst through the chapel doors it was not long before they were back in one another's arms. If this was to be their last act as a 'couple' then my god Alex was going to give Piper something to remember her by._

* * *

Just the sheer memories of that night sent shivers down Alex's spine and caused her heart rate to increase. They would never be over, their relationship, their love would always be bubbling away under the surface of everything else in their lives. They may not be together physically or 'officially' but Alex would always have a candle alight for Piper and although she may not always be willing to drop everything to welcome the blonde back with open arms eventually, like water seeping through a crack, her walls would crumble and everything would fall into place ready for the next crazy cycle.

"Vause, its time to go."

Alex looked up at yet another unfamiliar prison guard standing at the entrance of her cube, but it was not this unfamiliar face that had caused Alex to frown but the fact she could not believe that the time had passed already.

Standing up Alex was lead out of the dorms and she took one last look around, and that was when she saw the time, she was being released early.

"Fucking Jesus"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you again to everyone for the reviews and follows, it really gives me the motivation to carry on when I hear from you all so please do share the love :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Already Gone**

Piper pulled over in a rest stop along the freeway, she had been on the road for two and half hours and she really needed to pee and get a cup of coffee to help her power through the next hour and half. Despite the roadworks and the odd traffic jam she was not running too much behind schedule and should be getting to Litchfield bang on time for Alex.

After using the restroom Piper stopped by the coffee shop and she could not help but let a smile play across her face when she saw that the tall, tanned, sandy haired barista was behind the counter. There had to be some advantages of the early morning drives to Litchfield and Ben the Coffee Shop Man was definitely one of them. As she approached the counter his chipper voice sounded out over the gurgles and hisses of the coffee machines.

"Good morning Chappers, same as always?"

"Yes please Ben."

Piper didn't really care for the nickname that she had been given but when someone as hot as Ben the Coffee Shop Man called you it you did not complain; after all it was only good manners. With a coy smile Piper waited patiently for her drink, making small talk with the boy about reality TV shows and the weather. As he slid the cardboard cup over the counter he shot Piper a smile that was worthy of a toothpaste commercial and that little voice in the back of her head told her that he probably put this act on with all his customers in an attempt to get a better tip.

"I will see you same time next week Chappers."

"No, last time sorry Ben, my friend is getting out."

Piper offered the barista a sympathetic look and was surprised by the sign of disappointment that seemed to spread across Ben's face. He was probably not even in his twenties but it gave Piper an immense feeling of satisfaction that it appeared that someone still wanted her. With a boost of confidence Piper gave Ben a little wave as she walked out of the coffee shop, smiling to herself as she sipped on her drink as she thought about the last time she had a young sandy haired boy chasing after her.

* * *

 _"An inmate from Litchfield Prison is trying to contact you, to accept this call please press one."_

 _Piper was fumbling with the keys to her little apartment as she tried to unlock the front door, her arms were full of groceries and the phone was pinned between the side of her head and her right shoulder. Carefully trying to get a hold of her phone Piper hit the number one on the keypad just in time for the strength of the brown paper bag to fail and both her shopping and phone fell from her grasp covering the landing area in front of her door. Swearing under her breath Piper bent down and started to pick everything up while in the distance she could hear the little borrower voice of Alex sound out from the speaker of her phone as it lay on the welcome mat to her apartment._

 _"I will get it sweetheart."_

 _Bounding up the small flight of stairs like an excitable puppy was a sandy haired man in a grey suit, bending down he scooped up the phone and jovially held it to his ear. His piercing blue eyes were glued to Pipers face and his British accent echoed around the empty hallway._

 _"Hello, Piper Chapman's phone."_

 _"Who the fuck is this?"_

 _The female voice he was greeted with was deep and confrontational. Charles seemed stunned to receive such an unprovoked reaction and Piper could only watch as his normally smooth and clam features warped into a serious expression and his tone of voice chanced to match his expression._

 _"I am Pipers boyfriend, who may I ask are you?"_

 _"Pipers fucking girlfriend, where is she?"_

 _From the outside Piper could hear the raised voice of Alex and she knew she needed to act before anything else could be said. Quickly dropping everything she had previously picked up of the floor Piper reached forward and snatched the phone off Charles and quickly hurried into the flat and headed straight for her bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her._

 _"Hi Al."_

 _"Jesus Pipes! You have an English boyfriend, are you fucking kidding me?"_

 _"What? You are the one who told me not to put my life on hold."_

 _There was silence on the end of the line, Piper paced around the small floor space of her bedroom, stepping over clothes that lay strewn on the floor from where she had left them the night before. In the distance she could hear the floor to her apartment bang shut as Charles made his way into the apartment. Pipers blue eyes drifted from the back of the bedroom door to her bedside table where a simple wooden photo frame sat. The cheap frame held a treasured picture for Piper, it was not of family or childhood memories, and instead it was a picture of Alex and her astride one of the giant lions that sat proudly in Trafalgar Square in London. Although the picture may have been slightly blurred due to the poor light and Alex had not been looking into the camera lens it was one of Pipers favourite pictures as at that moment in time she had been the happiest she had ever felt in her entire life._

 _There still had been no response from Alex after her initial outburst so Piper tested the water once more by trying to defend her actions, not that there was anything truly to defend._

 _"I have been out of prison for almost two years Alex; you still have so much time left on your sentence. I thought we agreed that it would be unrealistic for me to wait for you."_

 _Piper could hear the sigh on the other side of the phone; she could imagine Alex leaning against the wall, the phone in one hand while the other was lost in the mess of her thick dark hair. After a moment the deep voice of Alex penetrated the silence._

 _"Are you still coming tomorrow?"_

 _Piper was caught off guard, she had expected Alex to retaliate, to argue back, to yell and swear but there had been nothing. Instead she sounded defeated and had changed the conversation altogether._

 _"Shit, Charles parents are over, I promised I –"_

 _"You promised me Pipes, remember?"_

 _Piper sat down on the edge of the bed, unable to remove her gaze from the photo at the side of her bed. She felt like she was running around in circles when it came to Alex. Piper was exhausted, frustrated and bored of the same view. She rubbed her temple with her free hand as she tried to fight off the headache that had come rolling in like a thunderstorm causing her thought process to become distorted with static; she needed to make a decision and fast._

 _Just then there was a little knock on her bedroom door before it slowly opened and Charles headed peered around the corner. His gaze was fixed on Piper and he could not hide the look of concern in his eyes and at that moment Piper had made up her mind._

 _"Yeah well Charles is here."_

 _"Fine. Fuck you Piper."_

 _The phone line went dead._

* * *

Piper walked slowly back to her car, idly scrolling through social media channels while she waited for her coffee to cool. However before Piper had even made it back to her car her phone was vibrating again with yet another incoming call from Litchfield.

"Yo Chapman, where are you?

It was Nicky; Piper rested her coffee cup on the roof of her car as she dug around in her handbag for her car keys.

"Sitting in a layby Nicky, why? What's happened to Alex?"

"They are letting stretch out now."

"What! I am another hour and half away."

"Best drive fast Chapman."

Without saying goodbye Piper cancelled the call and jumped into her car putting the hot coffee into the cup holder and brought the engine and radio back to life. The sound of Kelly Clarkson's voice filled the inside of the little car but Piper paid little attention as she raced through the gears.

* * *

 _Piper sat nervously in the visitation room, a whole month had passed since the Charles debacle and Piper had not heard a peep from Alex, in fact Piper didn't even know if Alex would even make the effort to come to visitation. However she did not have to wait long for an answer as the tall woman sauntered into the room looking less then pleased at seeing Piper. Neither went for a hug, Piper remained sitting and Alex joined her on the other side of the table, glancing over both shoulders as if looking for someone._

 _"No Charles?"_

 _"Grow the fuck up Alex."_

 _Alex leaned forward, her elbows on the table and her hands open with palms facing upwards. She dropt her voice was a hushed whisper as her green eyes locked with Pipers blue ones._

 _"How did you expect me to react Piper? I don't see why you would not tell me about him?"_

 _"Because I know you would act like a jealous teenage girl."_

 _Alex scoffed at this statement and leaned back in her chair; breaking eye contact with Piper and instead decided to focus on a stain on the wall just above Pipers left shoulder. This is how they remained for a couple of minutes, both of them being as stubborn as the other refusing to be the one to speak first. It was Pipers resolve that broke first, after all she had not traveled all this way to sit in an uncomfortable silence, after all she could do that easily enough at her Mothers and that did not involve a four hour car journey._

 _"I don't love him you know."_

 _Alex forced herself to look at Piper, her arms were folded across her chest and her right eyebrow raised slightly but Alex remind silent. She could not bring herself to say anything as she was worried her voice would betray her act of composure, but Piper knew this look well enough by now and instead of waiting for an answer she continued._

 _"Charles has one problem you know."_

 _"What?" Alex could not help herself, she had bitten to Pipers bait. "He has a dick?"_

 _Piper rolled her eyes, if Alex was going to act like this then she would not pay her the compliment, but as her blue eyes met the green eyes of Alex she should feel her resolve fall._

 _"No Al. He is not you."_

 _Piper could see Alex exhale, her attitude and animosity seemed to deflate like a balloon. Her eyes grew soft and her arms unfolded as the walls fell down._

* * *

Piper never used to appreciate the soft side of Alex Vause. She had fallen for an illusion of the tough, sassy woman who lived for adventure while worked for an international drug cartel; in fact Piper had never truly experienced the vulnerable Alex until they were in prison together. At first she had been very dismissive of the soft side of Alex as that was not the image or memory of Alex that she had. As a result it had caused a lot of issues, but eventually when Piper had got over her self-centred self she finally understood that the person she loved was behind the tough façade and the emotional breakdowns.

Piper loved _her_ Alex, the one that would make her laugh with a simple raise of an eyebrow, the one who held her hand when she was upset and would wrap her arms around her pulling her into a safe and familiar embrace. No one would ever be able to compare to the love and connection Piper shared with Alex Vause.

She was her soulmate, her kindred spirit, her lobster and this why she was doing the right thing and why Polly and Larry could never understand. No matter what shit got in the way, or how many years they spent apart Piper and Alex were end game!

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all the follows, favorites and reviews. I hope you like it, never fear there are happier time and flash backs ahead!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Use Somebody**

Alex followed the guard through the corridors of the prison, this would be the last time she would walk through the place she had called home for the past six years, she knew, unlike before she would never end up back here again. As she continued her journey through the corridors of the prison she passed familiar faces, giving them small acknowledging nods of farewell. That was when her gaze fell upon a bushy haired woman who appeared to be chatting up a girl in orange who looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

"Nicky!"

Nicky spun around, the look of frustration evident on her features at first due to the disruption but when she noticed who had yelled the woman in orange was the least of her concerns. Without a moment of hesitation Nicky ran over to Alex, her eyes wide in astonishment; you would not have guessed an hour previously she had told Alex to fuck off.

"Shit Vause they are letting you out?"

"You have to call Piper, tell her I am being let out now."

"And here was me thinking you had called me over for a goodbye fumble in the broom cupboard."

Despite the smile dancing across her face Alex shot Nicky a warning glare, she did not have time for too much light hearted banter today.

"Please call her Nicky."

"Sure thing Vause, just don't forget about me when you are on the other side alright."

"Inmate, please keep moving."

Alex looked over at the guard and then back to Nicky, neither of these two was big with goodbyes, in all their years here and the people that had been and gone these two still reminded and their friendship and bond had only grown stronger.

"I could never forget you Nichols."

Alex felt a touch on her elbow and for a second she thought that Nicky was showing some form of intimacy but as she looked down she saw the blue sleeve and with that the guard lead Alex away from Nicky. Glancing over her shoulder Alex took one last look at Nicky who in return offered her a small, childlike wave.

* * *

 _Alex was sent crashing through the toilet cubical door, stumbling backwards she put out her arms to steady herself and to stop herself falling down onto the toilet seat. She was swiftly followed into the toilet stall by Nicky who quickly closed the door, fumbling with the lock in her haste. Soon they were back in each other's arms; their lips were locked while their hands ran over each other's bodies, feeling every crest and crevice before their attention turned to trying to pull each other's tops off in the confined space._

 _As soon as bare skin was exposed Alex started to trail kisses along Nicky's cheekbone then down her neck and continued on down her now exposed chest. But Alex did not stop there; she continued moving her way down, circling kisses around her belly button as one hand reminded on Nicky's right breast while the other started to pull down her khaki bottoms._

 _"Whoa Vause, slow the fuck down."_

 _Alex looked up with hungry, lust filled eyes but Nicky could see something else behind the initial desire that unsettled her. Irritated by the disruption Alex stood up and placed her hands firmly on Nicky's hips pulling their bodies close together._

 _"Come on Nichols we both want this."_

 _Alex started kissing Nicky's neck once again and she could hear Nicky's groans underneath her as Alex's left hand slid from the hip and passed the elastic waistband of Nicky's trousers and panties, but once more she pushed Alex away._

 _"Trust me, I want this but you just found out Chapman has a fucking English boyfriend and although I like being involved in the whole revenge thing I am not gonna be caught in the middle of your drama."_

 _Both their chests were heaving and as Alex looked Nicky directly in the eyes the red misted that had engulfed Alex started to evaporate and the realisation of the situation she found herself in emotionally and physically knocked her off her feet. Falling backwards onto the toilet behind her Alex put her head in her hands, Nicky was right and Alex hated to admit it._

 _"Fuck."_

 _Nicky crouched down in from of Alex, putting a reassuring hand on her knee._

 _"Getting screwed over sucks, people on the outside forgetting what its like on the inside. We just got to keep going and don't let it get to ya okay."_

 _These were wise words from a person that Alex had gained so much respect for, they had both been through so much hurt which had resulted in the finding common ground. Monrello's marriage and subsequent departure had destroyed Nicky, although she did not show it to all in the quiet time of them eating pretzels at the back on the library she would open up about her past, present and her lack of a future. With a slap on Alex's thigh Nicky stood up and rearranged her bra before pulling her top back on._

 _"Chin up Vause, you aren't that hot when your depressed."_

 _With tongue in cheek Nicky left the toilet cubical leaving Alex alone with her messed up thoughts. Technically she had done nothing wrong, this was not cheating as Alex had nobody to cheat on since Piper had found herself a new man. So if this was not cheating then why did it feel so wrong? Deep down Alex knew the answer but she didn't want to admit it._

* * *

 _It has been two weeks since Pipers secret was reviled in such a spectacular way and Alex could not bring herself to pick up the phone and call the familiar number. In prison Alex could get lost in the mundane routine of life and try to forget about the blonde on the outside, after all it was not like the previous occasions their relationship had broken down and they still had to see each other._

 _It was Saturday lunchtime and Alex was sitting by herself in the cafeteria chasing her food around the plastic tray when out the corner of her eye she noticed someone sitting down next to her, with a quick sideways glance Alex noticed that it was Yoga Jones. She was relieved it was not Nicky, although the toilet fiasco had not damaged their friendship Alex still felt embarrassed by what had happened._

 _"I didn't hear your name being called out for visitation today Vause. Could Chapman not make it again?"_

 _Today should have been the day Piper came to visit and by now the remaining members of the old crowd knew the routine. Alex could feel frustration bubbling under the surface but she could not let it out on Yoga Jones, she did not know the emotional turmoil that Alex was currently fighting._

 _"No, I imagine she is too busy with her boyfriend." Alex tried to keep calm but it was hard not to spit out the word boyfriend._

 _"I am sorry to hear that Vause. If it's any constellation anyone that has seen you two together would find it hard to believe that Piper could be in anything too serious. As Janus Arney states in dreams and in love, there is no impossibilities."_

 _Alex offered Yoga Jones a small smile in appreciation for her attempts to comfort her, but nothing would truly help, not until the English man was out of the picture._

* * *

 _Alex slowly walked away from the visitation room, her head hung low as she tried to avoid any unnecessary eye contact with women trying to get the latest gossip. Apparently her Pipers relationship was a popular talking point between her fellow inmates, especially now there was someone else in the mix._

 _"Yo Vause!"_

 _The familiar sound of Nicky's voice caused Alex to lift her head and she watched as her friend jumped down the last few steps of the staircase. As her thick souled boots hit the cheap prison floor Nicky raised her arms in the air like a gymnast at the end of their parallel bar routine, refusing to lower her arms and resume their conversation till she got a round of applause from Alex. Once her ego had been satisfied she resumed her conversation with Alex._

 _"Blonde turn up this week?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _"Alone?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _That visit had not gone how she had expected and although Piper had reinforced her feelings Alex still felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall. Alex was already exasperated of the questions and she knew that Nicky had not stopped._

 _"And she is-" Nicky left the question hanging waiting for Alex to pick it up._

 _"Still dating Charles, but he's not me."_

 _Alex did air quotes at this last statement to accompany the roll of her eyes. Gauging by Nicky's reaction this news was what she had expected; maybe Alex was in denial and could not see the wood from the trees._

 _"Look we all know Chapman is a stubborn bitch, I bet she enjoys seeing you turn into a green eyed monster. Maybe try - being nice."_

 _Nicky acted like she had come up with the solution to all the world's problems, but Alex could not argue with her idea; maybe a change of tactic would work._

 _"I can be nice." Alex jested; she glanced down at Nicky seeing the wide smile that had spread across her face._

* * *

 _"Vause you have visitors"_

 _She looked up over the top of her glasses at the male guard that stood in the entrance way to her cube. Alex simply shrugged her shoulders and went back to reading her book. Alex knew who they were and if she was honest she didn't want to see them. Over the two weeks since Pipers last visit Alex and Nicky had come up with the outlines of a plan but as the time grew closer Alex's confidence started to waver, she was not confident this was going to work, however it seemed this guard was not going to leave her alone until she came with him. Exhaling deeply Alex snapped her book shut and swung her legs over the edge of her bunk._

 _"Fine I will come."_

 _Alex walked the familiar path to the visitation room, as she passed the window that looked out into the drab little room her eyes were immediately drawn to the blonde sitting in the middle of the room. Frustratingly as Alex grew closer her heart began to beat uncontrollably faster and she grew concerned that the sight of her heaving chest would give away her nonchalant act. Unlike on the previous visit Piper stood up and greeted Alex with the traditional hug, but this time there was no intimate embrace, in fact Alex estimated you could have fit a whole other person in the gap between them. No doubt this distance was in place due to the presence of the latest addition to Alex's visitation list, Charles Hunt. Although he was notably absent and for the briefest of moments Alex dared to hope something had befallen him and he was unable to attend. So for the second visitation in a row the first words that fell from Alex's mouth were "No Charles?"_

 _"Charles is here, he is just getting us a drink."_

 _On cue a young sandy haired man came steadily over carrying two little cardboard cups that had steam billowing out the top. Alex remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together to avoid any inappropriate comments about there being three of them and only two cups. Instead Alex focused her attention on studying the man trying to soak in as much detail as possible; you should never judge a book by its cover by your ex-girlfriends new boyfriend was free game. Alex determined that he was clearly from money, his silver Rolex watch ticked loudly from underneath the sleeve of his navy blue cashmere sweater and the overpowering scent of his aftershave lingered in the air around him. From the moment Piper had requested Charles addition to her visitation list Alex had dreaded this day, despite Nicky's plan. There sat the man who stood between her and Piper, the man who Alex knew Piper was with out of convenience as Charles was there and that was the one thing Alex could not be._

 _"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Alex, Piper speaks often about you."_

 _His accent was so stereotypically British it caused Alex to become painfully aware of her own accent as she started asking the rehearsed questions that she and Nicky had created to keep everything nice and civil._

 _"So Charles, what is it that you do? Piper has not spoken much about you, I feel like you are a blank book for me to discover."_

 _"I work as an accountant for the same company as Piper, we met in the lift, she had got her coat stuck in the lift door."_

 _Alex looked at Piper with a raised quizzical eyebrow to check the truth of this little story, the tinge of red in her cheeks confirmed it to be true. This really was turning into a rom-com, the bumbling British male lead, the beautiful blonde leading lady and the lesbian ex-lover who was in prison…Alex had to admit that her part was little bit more unconventional. Looking down at her clasped hands Alex attempt to keep the green eyed monster from escaping and Nicky's plan in mind._

 _"Which part of England are you from Charles?"_

 _"Epsom in Surrey."_

 _Alex nodded her head knowingly despite the fact she had no idea where Epsom was, glancing at Piper she looked for her approval and appreciation that she could play nice with others, even if they were knock off Hugh Grant wannabes who was stealing the love of her life away from her. Biting her tongue and quelling her internal rage Alex could only watch as the couple sipped on their hot drinks in unison, however Alex could not help but smile to herself when she saw Piper wince as she drank her coffee, clearly Charles still had not learnt that despite Piper saying two sugars she actually means three._

 _"And what university did you attend Charles, I imagine you must be an Oxbridge Graduate."_

 _Charles seemed to shift nervously in his seat as he glanced at Piper who gave him an encouraging look._

 _"Yes I went to Oxford. I read Classics with English. I passed with a 2:1 thanks to my aunt and uncle. They worked so hard, Dick and Fanny got me through some hard times."_

 _A silence fell over the small table, Alex's jaw clamped tightly shut, she could feel the strain on her muscles as she tried to without any form of immature emotions erupt due to a set of names. But maybe she was not hiding it as well as she thought as she received a knowing sideways look from Piper._

 _"I love Dick and Fanny." Piper commented, not removing her gave from Alex who's head had now dropped as she attempted to once a again to compose herself. It was almost as if Piper had said this on purpose to test Alex as she tried to block out every witty comment or innuendo that was coming to mind, she needed to be nice._

 _"It must be nice having such a supportive family." Piper's piercing blue eyes remained fixed on Alex who in turn offered the blonde a wry smile._

 _Their conversation remained pleasant and civil, Piper enquired about fellow inmates and asked about the usual prison dramas. Charles showed interest but this soon waned as Alex purposely used nicknames and in jokes to embellish her stories. While Alex was still mid conversation about the latest meth head feud Charles made his excuses and left to use the restroom and as soon as he was a safe distance away she changed the subject mid-sentence._

 _"Is this going how you expected?" Alex raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging on her lips._

 _"No, you are being far too nice." Piper's smile was so wide she showed all her teeth as she leaned back in her chair, her attention full on the raven haired woman in front of her._

 _"So what do you think?"_

 _"Are you really asking me that question?" Even Alex could not believe that Piper could be so big headed and arrogant._

 _"I am asking you as my best friend Al." That was a back handed compliment and this was a talking point that Alex wanted to touch on while Charles was away, it was off plan but she had to take her opportunities._

 _"Am I nothing more than your friend Pipes?"_

 _Piper was just about to speak when the British accent sounded out around them as Charles sat back down._

 _"I thought you hated that nickname Piper."_

 _"I don't like my current boyfriend calling me by the nickname that my ex-girlfriend uses."_

 _They all took it in turn to look at one another; none of them knowing what to say to break the awkward deadlock that had fallen over them. Alex could clearly see the frustration levels building in Charles once calm face and she took great satisfaction from this._

 _"You know what Pipes," Charles stressed the use of her nickname. "This is too weird; I think I will wait in the car."_

 _The sound of the plastic legs of the chair scrapping on the lino floor sounded out around the visitation room as both Charles and Alex stood up. Alex watched with an amused smile as the English man looked her up and down, taking in the fact that she was in fact taller than he was._

 _"It was a pleasure to meet you too Charles." The Englishman did not even respond to Alex as he hurried out of the visitation room, his tail clearly between his legs._

* * *

That had been the one and only time Alex had met Charles or any other boyfriend of Pipers. Alex knew that there had been others, Piper was the kind of person who could not be alone and although this unsettled Alex she knew that in an hours' time she could fill that void in Pipers life.

Alex followed the guard through a locked gate and into a side room that she had only seen before on her previous entrances and exits from the prison. This was becoming real, she was getting out!

* * *

 **A/N: I can only apologise for the delay in getting this chapter uploaded. I have honestly done 5 rewrites of this chapter, 2 have been complete rewrites with the direction of the chapter changing dramatically to what I had originally planned. I will admit I rushed the end a bit to get it up so I am sorry if there is any glaring mistakes!**

 **Anyway I hope you guys like it and it was worth the wait.** **Sorry there is not that much Vauseman but the next chapter has a pre-prison Vauseman flashback!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited. It means so much to me and I love hearing from you guys.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Nothin' On You.**

Piper sped down the freeway as she tried to get to Alex as fast as possible, her stomach was churning and she was glad that she had not had all of her triple mocha that now sat cooling in the cup holder. The thought of Alex being worried or angry due to her was not nice to comprehend and brought back too many painful memories of their in prison power battles. However Pipers focus on getting to Alex as fast as possible was broken when once again her phone buzzed over the sound of the car radio.

"Piper, it's your mother. Your Father and I are in the city and we want to take you to lunch."

"Mom, I can't. I am on my way to Litchfield to collect Alex."

There was silence on the other end of the phone and she knew that a hushed conversation was now happening between her parents as they discussed their wayward daughter. In the back of Pipers mind she could not help but worry if someone else was trying to call her, but she knew she could not just hang up on her mother no matter how much she wanted to hit the 'end call' button. Carol Chapman maybe annoying to her daughter but she was harmless.

"Whatever happened to Charles, he was nice."

* * *

 _Piper and Charles had avoided each other all day at work after once again they had argued over the breakfast table about a certain, spectacle wearing woman. After a long day at work their car ride back to Pipers apartment had been painfully awkward as not a single word was spoken between the couple. Ever since their visit to Litchfield the cracks in their relationship had formed, they would argue about the smallest of things and neither of them would back down._

 _As Piper slammed her front door shut, she ignored Charles who was lingering around the kitchen and walked straight into her bedroom to change out of her white blouse and black pencil skirt and into an old faded t-shirt and a pair of sweats. That was when she noticed that the photo of her and Alex that normally sat on her bedside table was missing, a quick glance around proved that it had not been knocked over meaning that there was only one person who could have moved it._

 _"Charles!" Piper stormed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where he was making himself a cup of tea. "Where the fuck is my photo frame?"_

 _Charles looked at Piper with a blank expression and simply shrugged his shoulders. His resentment from the morning argument was still apparent and he refused to be sucked into yet another verbal battle with Piper, but Piper was not going to leave this alone and once again she asked where the photo was. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and Charles vow of silence latest as long as an ice cream left out in the sun._

 _"You mean why did I move a picture of my girlfriend and her on and off again Lesbian lover from the bedside table?"_

 _"It was not yours to move Charles! I think you had best leave-" Piper paused as she frowned at the sandy haired man, she ran her tongue over her chapped lips as it all became clear what needed to be done. "-permanently."_

 _The Englishman slammed the mug that was in his hand down on the kitchen counter and picked up his coat off the back of a kitchen chair. He glared at Piper as he roughly pulled his coat on before taking long strides towards the apartment door._

 _"I hope you and Alex are happy together, clearly she is the only person who can deal with all of –" Charles waved his hand in the general direction of Piper. "-this."_

 _With that Charles left the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him leaving Piper standing alone in her apartment. She felt no remorse._

* * *

"Piper, are you still there?"

"Mom I need to go"

Piper could hear the disgruntled sigh from her mother as it appeared once again her only daughter was proving herself to be a disappointment.

"Piper, I don't understand why you keep going back to her, your Father and I…"

"I love Alex Mom. That is all that matters."

"Love is a strong word Piper."

"Alex is all I think about day and night, I live for the moments we can sit around a small table in a room full of people and just be near one another."

"But Piper-"

"Bye Mom!"

With one swift action Piper cancelled the phone call, leaving the car to be filled with only the sound of Bruno Mars crooning away about his love. Piper understood why people were worried but they had traveled together for a year and lived together in the real world and in prison. Despite their ups and downs Piper knew that everything would be fine.

* * *

 _"Come stay with me?"_

 _Piper could not tell if this was a question or a statement, the playful smile that danced on Alex's lips would have suggested the former. However with the hesitation, the smile on her girlfriends face faded ever so slightly. "I am not joking Pipes, when we get home come live with me."_

 _Alex had moved closer, Piper could feel the warmth of Alex's breath on her neck and could smell spearmint from her freshly brushed teeth. Piper's whole body screamed out for Alex, she longed for the caress of her lips on her exposed skin, the gentle touch of her soft hands as they glided south over her body on their journey towards their final destination. As if reading Pipers mind Alex's right hand traced Pipers spine and instantly Piper could feel her body react as her nipples grew hard and her back arched pushing her body into Alex's._

 _"Okay." Piper's voice was quiet, but Alex didn't care she got the answer that she wanted and before either of them could say another word Alex had pushed Piper onto the double bed in their hotel room and quickly followed her onto the mattress, straddling her girlfriend and immediately engulfing her in a passionate kiss._

* * *

 _Daylight was creeping through the gap in the curtains. Blurry eyed Piper turned to read the alarm clock at the side of their bed. The little red LED lights flashed in the shape of six forty-five and Piper could not help but let out a groan, jet lag was a bitch. Turning her head to the right Piper watched Alex as she slept beside her. She looked so peaceful; there was no frown on her face like the night before after her phone rang for the fifteenth time with yet another phone call from Farhi. Like this, she was her Alex._

 _It was at this moment when watching Alex in her peaceful state that Piper decided to do something nice for her, she thought back to her childhood fantasies and the many romance movies she had watch with Polly on a Saturday night and came to the decision to make Alex breakfast in bed._

 _Gingerly Piper removed herself from the bed, taking extra care not to wake Alex. She stepped over the loose floorboards and carefully squeezing between the gap between the door frame and the bedroom door and entered the living area of their apartment. The leftovers from their Chinese takeout still littered the coffee table along with an empty bottle of wine. Pipers bare feet padded across the wooden floor as she approached the small kitchen area, taking care not to step on any vegetable spring rolls or prawn toast that were strewn across the floor from the food fight the night before._

 _Feeling around the kitchen, Piper opened cupboards looking around for anything that could be turned into breakfast. "Whoa Alex you said my diet was bad." Piper muttered to herself as she reached around boxes of kids cereals and pop tarts. After finding some mouldy bread and a bag of potatoes that were growing new life Piper reluctantly pulled out the pop tarts "so romantic" she mumbled as she double checked the best before date on the bottom._

 _"Now I need a toaster."_

 _Spinning around on the spot she scanned the worktop surfaces, nothing, surly Alex would have a toaster if she had pop tarts. As quietly as possible she started to open cupboards, she found glasses and plates, bottles of wine and even a load of shoes (Alex would have to explain that later) but still no toaster. But as Pipers Grandma always said you would find whatever you lost in the last place you looked and there was toaster in the last place Piper looked, on top of the cupboards._

 _Carefully Piper climbed onto the workshop surface, the cold black granite caused her feet to tingle as she cautiously peered on top of the dust covered cabinets and among the empty tins and champagne bottle corks she saw the little red toaster. As Piper reached out she could hear her Fathers voice in her head telling her to keep three points of contact at all times from when she used to help get the Christmas decorations down from the loft, no matter how dysfunctional they were Piper missed her family and made a mental note to call them later._

 _Now came the hard bit, how was she going to get down?_

 _Piper closed her eyes and imagined she was standing on top of the rocks by a waterfall in Malaysia, she could hear Alex's jeers from the lagoon below telling her to jump. With a deep breath Piper leapt off her imaginary rock and into the expecting water below, but instead her bare feet landed on the cold floor tiles. Catching Piper slightly off guard she stumbled forward and smashed the toaster against the breakfast bar. The sickening crunch of plastic and metal made Piper wince and glance over at the bedroom door in fear of disturbing Alex from her slumber. When no noise could be heard from the bedroom Piper turned her attention to the now redesigned toaster, it was a sorry sight. The red plastic casing had split in two and the wires from within were spilling out the hole like intestines. Swearing again and again Piper placed the toaster on the kitchen counter and looked around for some divine inspiration. Day one of living with Alex and she had already destroyed the toaster._

 _But maybe it was fixable, just maybe Alec didn't have to know. Immediately Piper plugged the toaster in, hoping it was merely cosmetic damage but as she pressed down the leaver nothing happened. "Shit". On closer inspection Piper could see that a wires were not just hanging out, in fact they had come loose, she may know nothing about electrics but she knew that wires needed to be connected!_

 _Frantically she started looking around all the draws in the apartment, rummaging around for electrical tape or a soldering iron (surly everyone had one of those) and it was only when doing this did Piper feel like she was learning more about her girlfriend. Alex always struck Piper as a clean and organised person; everything she did seemed to ooze with style, grace and confidence. But now as she searched through her draws she could see the unorganised chaos that lay beneath. After finding draws full of wires and cables, another with a wide variety of stationary from various hotels from around the world Piper finally came across something that could possibly work, a hot glue gun. She had used one once before when her and Polly had been at University and decided to glue rhinestones onto an old denim jacket, it had not turned out well._

 _"Second time lucky" she muttered to herself as she wondered back to the kitchen area where the broken toaster miserably sat. Setting up the glue gun Piper licked her lips as she planned how she was going to fix the toaster. Carefully she picked up the glue gun and gently pulled the trigger only to be horrified by the mass of hot, liquid glue to come firing from the nozzle and all over the insides of the toaster. "Fuck!"_

 _Putting the glue down to one side Piper quickly looked around the kitchen for a dishcloth or paper towel but there was nothing. Turning back to the toaster Piper could only look on with horror as she noticed the glue gun had continued to leak and was running all over the kitchen counter. "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!"_

 _Piper knew she needed to clean up and with one quick movement she pulled off her vest top and quickly started to mop up the counter. That was when Piper heard a noise beside of her and as she looked up Piper saw that she was being watched by her roommate. Alex looked Piper up and down, a frown burrowed away across her usually smooth brow._

 _"What's wrong?" the blonde questioned, totally unaware of the weird situation her girlfriend had found her in._

 _"Oh nothing." Alex folded her arms as the frown transformed into a quizzical smile as her eyes absorbed the comical scene in front of her. "Just waiting for all of this to play out Pipes."_

 _With a small huff of determination Piper picked up the glue gun and was about to put tip to plastic when she looked directly at the bewildered Alex._

 _"Why do you have a glue gun?"_

 _"For crafts." The little smile that tugged on Alex's lips made Piper feel this was not the whole truth but she was not going to ask further, not today anyway._

 _"Do you need a hand Piper?"_

 _"No!" Piper was determined to do this alone, Alex often called her stubborn but she wanted, needed to do this however the watchful gaze and running commentary of Alex was not helping._

 _"You're so cute when you're frustrated." Alex cooed at her girlfriend as she walked over towards the mess she seemed to have found herself in. "Are you sure you don't need a hand?"_

 _"Yes, I am managing."_

 _"It looks it." Alex could not remove the smirk from her face as she stood behind the blonde and wrapped her arms around Pipers middle. Alex could feel how tense Piper was, the Chapman temper seemed to be getting the best of her. "Babe you need to calm down."_

 _Piper attempted to shove Alex away but the dark haired woman had her embrace tightly locked. After a few more swears and huffs under her breath Piper slammed the glue gun on the counter and defiantly refused to look at Alex. The problem was that she was making it hard for Piper to ignore her; Alex had pushed Pipers hair to one side exposing the back of her neck and was proceeding to gently plant small kisses from the top of her spine and along her shoulder line. Piper's breaths grew short as she tried to keep both her temper and desire for Alex under control, which was hard when all she could feel was the warmth of her breath on her exposed skin._

 _"Shall I let you in to a secret?" Alex's voice was a husky whisper as her hold around Pipers waist loosened ever so slightly in anticipation of the reaction her reveal would cause. "That toaster has been broken for months."_

 _"What!" Piper wiggled out of Alex's arms and slowly stepped backwards away from her girlfriend as if she was a strange, wild creature. The blondes blue eyes then started to dart back and forth form Alex to the toaster, her mouth slowly opening as her tired jet lagged brain began to put the pieces together. "Why have you kept a broken toaster?"_

 _"It was on top of the cupboard for a reason Pipes, anyway how did a short arse like you get it down anyway?"_

 _In annoyance Piper threw her glue covered top at Alex and was disgruntled to see her catch it with ease. Alex looked down at the glue covered top with a quizzical brow; Piper knew her girlfriend too well and could tell that Alex's dirty mind was racing with an unlimited number of crude and inappropriate jokes which thankfully remained behind buttoned lips. Even just standing watching Alex and the mischievous smile dance across her lips made Piper feel calmer, made her realise that out of all the problem in the world a broken toaster was low on the priority list._

 _"I can't believe you tried to fix a toaster with a hot glue gun." Alex dropt the top on the floor and sauntered over towards Piper. She carefully placed her hands on Pipers hips before gently kissing the blonde on the cheek. "I guess we will laugh about this one day."_

 _"Maybe" Piper muttered more to herself as Alex started to nuzzle at her neck like a needy vampire. Soon Alex's kisses became more urgent as they sexual heat between the two of them intensified. Piper wrapped her arms around Alex pulling her in closer. The couple soon became lost in one another as their hands traveled over the familiar paths of each other's bodies. They knew where to stroke, where to pinch to get the most from one another and to help the other reach the desired level of pleasure._

 _Alex had now pushed Piper up against the kitchen counter; she could feel the handler from the draws and cupboards digging into the back of her legs. Breaking away from Alex's sweet kiss for the briefest of seconds Piper pushed the toaster to one side and jumped up to sit on the worktop before quickly wrapping her legs around Alex's middle. The desire that burnt in Alex's eyes drove Piper mad with lust and without a moment of hesitation she pulled her closer by the collar of her t-shirt and began to kiss Alex again. This unexpected pulling action caused Alex to put a hand out onto the kitchen counter to steady herself and that was when she quickly broke away from Piper looking directly at her now glistening hand._

 _"What the fuck?"_

 _Angry that Alex had broken their rhythm Piper was about to complain when she realised that her pajama shorts were damp and not in a good way. As soon as she looked down she realised she was sat in the puddle of glue that had leaked from the glue gun._

 _"Shit."_

 _Alex didn't seem to care, her voice was still seductive and playful as her eyebrow raised and a smirk crept across her features. "We had best get you cleaned up."_

 _Piper could only grin back; Alex knew that Pipers favourite place was always in water and especially in water when Alex was with her. It seemed this was not going to put a stopper on their passionate embrace, merely change its location. Tightening her grip around Alex with her legs and wrapping her arms around her neck Piper pretended to try and get off the counter._

 _"Oh dear, it seems I am stuck."_

 _Laughing at Pipers terrible acting Alex lifted Piper up off the counter and taking extra care not to drop Piper as Alex carried her precious cargo to the bathroom where a long, hot and steamy shower awaited._

* * *

Looking back on it now nothing or anyone had compared to Pipers time with Alex. Yes, she had loved Larry but there was never that heat, that desire as there had been with Alex. Even now, after all this time she got butterflies in her stomach every time she visited Litchfield to see Alex, she still longed for Alex's touch and their hugs goodbye after visitation had increased in length as their desire to be close to one another grew.

The thought that in a couple of hours' time they would be together again instantly brought a smile to Pipers face, knowing that she could fall asleep once more as Alec's little spoon tonight made everything in the world seem right.

BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEP!

"Fucking get off the road idiot I have somewhere to be!"

And she did, Piper had the most important person in her life waiting for her.

* * *

 **A/N: Firstly I can only apologise for how long this has taken me to upload, I will not bore you with the details but all I will say is that adult life is a bitch!**

 **Anyway here is a fun fact for you, this was the first part of the story I wrote. It was originally going to be a one-shot which I wrote when I first started to watch OITNB. I was fascinated by a passing comment in Season 1, episode 8 by Alex when she mentioned how Piper had tried to fix "our toaster with a hot glue gun." I just had to write it and I hope you guys liked it.**

 **There will be even more of a Vauseman flashback in the next chapter purely to make up for the lack of it in Season 3!**

 **Thank you again for the lovely reviews and all the favourites and follows, it really makes me smile.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Dynamite**

Alex stood in front of the CO's desk, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her arms folded in annoyance. Her green eyes watched as the flustered young guard riffled through his disorganised desk.

"I saw it this morning." He muttered to himself as he continued to move piece's of paper from one pile to another, his frustration and embarrassment level was clearly increasing with every passing second. "Fuck it." The guard reached out and picked up the phone quickly tapping in three digits.

"Harrison it's Ward, can you print me another QF31b please. Yeah, Alex Vause, very tall, dark hair, and glasses - yeah that's the one."

The laughter that followed her description gave Alex flash backs to when she was at school and the 'popular' kids would pass notes in class to one another and then point and laugh at her in unison. It didn't bother her, she didn't give a shit then and she didn't give a shit now, especially as those girls were now all soccer Moms racking up as many divorces as Alex had notches on her bedpost.

As Alex waited for the new form to be sent she was forced to listen to the boring conversation and blatant flirting between the two guard as they to listened to the radio that was paying quietly in the background.

"It's that guess the year thing. It's totally 2009."

"Neh this song was 2010."

Alex knew she had to intervene.

"It was 2010, this was huge in the UK when I was over there, and every club in Cannel Street was playing it."

"You travelled Vause?"

"Join an international drug cartel and see the world, it's on the poster." A smirk spread across her face and the guards could not hide their smiles; Alex had made up her mind that nothing was going to ruin today for her, this was the start of a new chapter.

"Nice to see you have learnt your lesson while in prison Vause."

The voice of Caputo floated through the air as the two guards quickly removed the smiles from their faces. The tired looking Prison Warden handed some paper over to the CO behind the desk before turning his attention back to Alex.

"It's sad to see you go Vause. Where are you staying?"

"With Piper"

This answer seemed to put a smile on his face.

"I am glad this put of misery brought happiness to someone's life."

That was when Alex noticed that Caputo had held out his hand and was waiting for it to be shaken. Gingerly Alex reached out and shook the chief warden's hand. He gave her a small smile before heading off down the corridor; however he did give her one last passing comment. "I don't ever want to see you here again Vause, take the right path."

After Caputo had disappeared from sight Ward turned his attention back to Alex. "So Vause you've been to the UK?"

* * *

 _"Oh Alex it's perfect."_

 _Piper gave a little squeal as she dropt her suitcase in the middle of the floor as she ran to the vast window that stretched from one wall of the hotel room to another. Alex could not help but smile as she watched Pipers eyes light up as she looked out over the River Thames. Slowly Alex approached her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around Pipers middle and kissing the blonde gently on the neck._

 _"I am glad you like it, I-"_

 _Alex broke off as she could feel her phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans. Without a second thought Alex let go of Piper and her hand instinctively went to her phone, it was Fahri. Out of the corner of her eye Alex saw the look on Pipers face and the frustration levels that came with her work interrupting their time._

 _"Babe, why don't you order us some room service?"_

 _Without a second look Alex strode away towards the bathroom, accepting the call just as she shut the door behind her._

 _"Alex, have you checked in?" Fahri sounded urgent, this did not bode well._

 _"Yeah, just. It's fucking amazing, the bathroom is bigger than my Moms old apartment."_

 _"Fuck, we have been compromised."_

 _"What!?" Alex tried not to raise her voice too loud, she didn't want Piper to hear. "How?"_

 _"One of the new mules has bailed, that Australian mother fucker has blabbed."_

 _"Urgh, I hate Australians. I told you not to use him! Does Kubra know?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _There was a pregnant pause as Alex sat down on the edge of the standalone bath. She ran her hand through her hair as her eyes traced the lines of the tiles while her brain worked overtime. Finally she broke the silence "Have we lost anything?"_

 _"No, your kid Tristin_ _showed smarts and collected both but the feds have been alerted."_

 _"Where are you Fahri?"_

 _"Still at the airport, I am flying out before anything can happen."_

 _Alex knew she should do the same but the look on Pipers face as she looked out over the city was too precious to loose. She would risk arrest (what could they pin on her anyway?) and the scorn of Kubra to keep her girlfriend happy._

 _"I will laylow then Fahri, getting lost in London should be easy enough and we will fly out once the heat has died down."_

 _"Be safe Vause, remember cash only, leave no trace."_

 _The call ended and Alex took a few moments to compose herself, it was rare that their jobs went wrong, they had been very lucky this time but Kubra did not take mistakes lightly and they both knew it. Standing up Alex walked across the bathroom and opened the door to find Piper laying on the bed, frowning at the celling. She didn't acknowledge Alex's presence before talking._

 _"Let me guess, you need to pop out for an hour or two."_

 _Alex felt hurt by Pipers attitude, had she been a neglectful girlfriend recently? It was obvious that Pipers frustration levels had been increasing recently with every time the phone rang or when Alex had to disappear every now and again but it was nothing to have alarmed Alex greatly._

 _"Nope." She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over towards the blonde. "I have the weekend off."_

 _Alex kissed Piper tenderly, feeling a sense of relief as they initial resistance faded and got lost in the kiss. As they pulled away Piper rested her forehead against Alex's_

 _"Promise."_

 _"Promise, look –" Alex pulled out her phone, her finger was hovering over the power button when she noticed she had a test message from an unknown number._

 ** _+557852413355 – oh dear, here was me just starting to like you. K_**

 _Alex's throat had gone dry as she re-read the message for the fifth time. She could feel Pipers gaze boring into the side of her head and with the press of a button Alex turned off the phone and threw it onto the bedside table._

 _"I am all yours Pipes."_

 ** _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_**

 _Over the past half an hour as they had lazed around in bed watching TV Alex could not take her mind off the text message from Kubra. Alex has witnessed first-hand what happened if you messed around Kubra or worse let him down. It was a dangerous, illegal game they all played and being the kingpin Kubra respected loyalty and in turn punished disloyalty by removing the problem._

 _There was a knock at the door and Alex sat bolt upright, she looked over at Piper to see the blonde get up off the bed._ _Jumping out of bed Alex rushed in front of Piper and held her back much to her annoyance. "Al move, it's room service." But Alex felt uneasy._

 _"Let me." As she approached the door her heart rate increased, the message from Kubra has set her on edge and Fahri's warnings had caused the raven haired woman to be cautious. As the person on the other side of the door knocked again with a lot more urgency, Alex glanced around to try and see if there was anything she could use in defense there was nothing. With a deep breath Alex quickly turned the handle and pulled open the door, half expecting to see a gun barrel pointing square between her eyes, instead she was greeted with a spotty teenage boy pushing a hostess trolley._

 _"Told you Al, its just room service. Thank you."_

 _Piper shot the boy a smile that caused his cheeks to turn a deep red before he quickly scurried away. Alex watched him walk down the corridor before doing a quick glance both ways to check no one else was there watching and that was when she noticed it, sitting in the pot plant by the door was an envelope with 'AV' written on it. Trying to stable her shaking hand Alex reached out and plucked it from its hiding place. It felt thin and cheap, nothing too threatening but as Alex ripped open the envelope a small slip of paper fell out which had three simple words upon it._

 ** _Watch your back_**

 _"Al. shut the door and come eat!"_

 _Night had fallen and they were walking through the streets of London hand in hand. They walked past gaggles of tourists and city dwellers having a night on the town or lost on their way back to their hotel. Alex's plan to lay low was to simply act as a couple on a London break, something she had to keep reminding herself that they actually were. They had been for a curry down Brick Lane, brought last minute tickets to a west-end show and found a quaint little pub where they had a pint of scrumpy cider. After they finished their pint they headed out into the heart of London, they eventually found themselves standing in Trafalgar Square. Pipers eyes went wide as she soaked in the history of the location and Alex could not help but smile at her girlfriend._

 _"When I was at college I read a book about London during the Second World War and there was this iconic picture of the celebrations on VE Day." Piper walked over to one of the giant fountains, peering into the glittering water. "People were dancing in the fountains, climbing on those black Landseer's Lions. I was captivated by that picture."_

 _Alex reached out and took hold of Pipers hand leading her towards the base of Nelson's Column where four large, black lions proudly sat. Climbing quickly up the steps Alex stood at the rear of one of the lions and positioned herself to give Piper a leg up. With a wide smile the blonde responded and climbed up and shuffled along its broad back before offering a hand to Alex pulling her up too. Once on the lion Alex wrapped her arms tightly around Pipers middle, resting her chin upon Pipers shoulder. The cold of the bronze broke through Alex's jeans but she did not notice, she only cared about Piper and the string of historical facts that was spewing out of her mouth._

 _After a few minutes of listening to Piper and looking at the view down Whitehall Street towards the houses of parliament Alex spoke._

 _"Hey Piper, shut-up."_

 _Leaning in Alex kissed Piper and she could feel Piper smile through the kiss. As they broke away Alex rested her forehead against Pipers, taking in everything about her girlfriend._

 _"Today has been beautiful Al, thank you."_

 _"No need to thank me Pipes, you know I would do anything for you. I love you."_

 _"I love you too."_

 _They kissed once more on top of the lions, under the street lights of London._

 ** _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_**

 _Back in the hotel Piper had gone for a bath (after having previously spent fifteen minutes trying to convince Alex to join her) leaving the dark haired woman alone with her book, or at least that had been the plan. As Alex had reached over for the hard back she spotted her phone lying haphazardly on the bedside table next to her book. Glancing at the bathroom door she quickly picked up the phone and held down the power button. The little screen flashed into life and after what felt like an age waiting for it to load up the phone began to vibrate in her hand as strings of text messages and notifications of voice mails started to pour through._

 ** _Fahri: Back in the States, hope the UK is treating you kind Vause._**

 ** _Tristin: Thx 4 the op. HTH atime. Call me._**

 ** _Fahri: Alex, answer your fucking phone._**

 ** _Mom: Hey kid, hope u & Piper are well. Call me when you can love mom x_**

 _Ignoring the other five unread text messages from Fahri Alex brought up her phone contacts and quickly selected her Moms name. After a brief pause waiting for it to dial internationally the phone finally began to ring._

 _"Hello."_

 _Just the sound of her Mum's voice caused a calming wave to spread over Alex and helped her to forget all the troubles that had been festering away. Alex lay back on the bed and closed her eyes trying to imagine her mother walking around her small apartment getting ready for work. Alex had offered on a number of occasions to help her mother out finically but she would always turn down any advances her daughter had made._

 _"Hi Mom it's me, sorry I have not called sooner. My battery died."_

 _"Hey Kid don't worry about it, you have called now how are you both or more importantly, where are you both?"_

 _"We are in London and are doing great Mom, Piper is just in the bath, and she sends her love."_

 _The mother and daughter fell in a comfortable conversation talking about mundane things such as the weather and Miss Barbra's cat from the apartment below. To anyone else this conversation would seem pointless but to Alex just hearing her mother's voice made everything better. Alex had not realised how long her and her Mom had been talking until Piper came out of the bathroom in nothing but a small white towel. Alex could not help but watch her girlfriend as she sauntered closer, the droplets of water falling from her wet hair and teasingly rolled over her bare shoulders and down underneath the rim of the towel. Alex's attention was no longer on her mother, but instead on Piper as she watched with a bitten lip as the white towel fell to the floor revealing Alex's favourite sight in the world, Pipers naked body._

 _"Mom, I have to go."_

 _Alex's eyes didn't leave Piper as they blonde walked towards her, however she did not do what Alex had hoped, instead Alex watched on with mock astonishment as Piper plucked the phone from Alex's hand and sat down on the edge of their king sized bed, her legs crossed casually. Alex could not help but smile like a love stroke dork as Piper_ _proceeded to talk to Dianne Vause. Alex loved the connections that Piper had with her mother, she was the only girlfriend her mother had ever liked._

 _Kissing Piper on the top of her head Alex slowly walked out of their room and down the stairs, jumping down the final few steps into the lobby of the hotel. Everything was working out perfectly, Piper was happy, she was happy and there were no death threats sitting at reception when she checked her messages. This needed to be celebrated so instead of heading back upstairs Alex walked towards the hotel bar._

 _Pushing open the double doors and entering the little bar the hum of noise seemed foreign compared to the silent reception she had just been in. It seemed to be full of business men and women laughing and flirting whilst sipping on cocktails. It took Alex a moment to distinguish that no music was playing; instead the many TV screens that covered the walls of the bar were showing the BBC news channel on mute with subtitles. As she waited to be served at the bar Alex found herself watching the silent middle aged news anchor talk, she decided it would be more fun to attempt to lip read what he was saying rather then read the subtitles. Alex was rather enjoying her game when the news story changed and a photo appeared on the TV that made all the colour drain from Alex's face, the noise of the bar was replaced by a ringing in her ears and her heart was about to pound out of her chest._

 _"Excuse me miss, are you alright?" The bar tender looked at Alex with a look of concern. "Can I get you anything?"_

 _Alex did not respond instead all thought had gone from drinking champagne in bed and she ran out of the bar and straight back upstairs to their hotel room._

 ** _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_**

 _"Fucking turn on the TV!"_

 _Alex stormed back into the hotel room shocking Piper who although was now dressed was still on the phone to Dianne. Alex did not noticed the vemonness look on her girlfriends face as she frantically flicked through the TV channels trying to find a new channel. That was when his face appeared on the little TV, accompanied by a solemn sounding reporter._

"The Australians body was found by a dog walker by Camden canal. His death is being treated by the Police as suspicious."

 _Alex flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder, obviously it was Piper but everything about this latest revelation had set Alex on edge._

 _"Al, that was Brett." Piper had hung up the phone and her voice was quiet. "We only saw him yesterday."_

 _"Yeah."_

 _Although the news article had changed to the sports report Alex could not remove her gaze from the TV. She was scared about having to look Piper in the eye and come up with answers to the thousands of questions she knew was about to be thrown at her._

 _"Did you knew about this?!"_

 _"I knew he fucked up and didn't do his job. Kubra does not give second chances."_

 _Alex did not have to look back at Piper to feel her recoiling behind her. Alex had been part of the underworld for years and had seen things that haunted her dreams. This was the world that Alex wanted to protect Piper from, she was the most precious thing to Alex and there was not enough bubble wrap and cotton wool in the world to wrap her up in. Slowly turning around Alex looked at her girlfriend and tried to find the words to remove the frown from her beautiful face._

 _"Piper, I – "_

 _"No Alex. This is not normal."_

 _"None of this is normal Piper, what I do is illegal, I have never lied to you about that."_

 _The look on Pipers face showed this was not the response she waned and instead of their usual battle of words she got off the bed and picked up her jacket._

 _"Pipes please don't go."_

 _But before Piper could respond the mobile phone on the bed started to vibrate and as soon as Alex's attention momentarily diverted to the phone Piper made her exit making sure the door slammed convincingly loud behind her._

 ** _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_**

 _Piper stormed out of their hotel room, her mind was swirling with so many thoughts and emotions that she did not know what was happening. Everything that her and Alex has done all the places they had been and people they had met were all a cover for the underworld activities. Like an old apple it was rotten to the core. It was as she mashed the elevator button that Alex's words sounded out above all other noise. She did know what Alex did and despite the danger she loved it. With a deep breath, Piper turned her back on the now open doors of the elevator and walked back towards their room. Unlocking the door she walked in to find Alex pacing in front of the large window, her left hand running through her thick black hair._

 _"I don't give a fuck Fahri that was your job, your responsibility._ _No, Fahri listen to me. You screw up one more time and I will personally make sure you end up like Brett."_

 _Piper stood frozen in the doorway, watching a woman who looked like her Alex but didn't sound like her. This was the harsh, business side of Alex that Piper had never seen before and Piper didn't like it. The blonde managed to find some courage and started to step further into the room when Alex spun around and locked eyes with Piper cuasing her to instantly recoil. Her decision to walk back into the room now seemed like her second biggest mistake, her first was agreeing to travel with Alex in the first place._

 _"You are going to sort this shit out before I get back otherwise I will make you pay."_

 _Piper didn't want to hear anymore and once again stormed out of their hotel room and headed straight down to the hotel bar._

 **-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

 _Alex watched their hotel room door get slammed for the second time in five minutes and all she could do was frown at the back of it as she continued to listen to Fahri bumble his way through a list of excuses. The reality of the situation began to sink in and see could only imagine what was racing though Pipers mind after witnessing her attitude._

 _"Fahri I need to go."_

 _Before her business partner could explain anymore she had cancelled the call, shoved the phone into her trouser pocket and ran out after Piper. Alex knew she would not have gone far and instinctively walked to the hotel bar._

 _As she entered her eyes were drawn instinctively to Piper who was sitting at the bar nursing a drink._

 _"Bit cold outside for a margarita don't you think?"_

 _Alex had approached cautiously and sat down on the empty bar stool next to Piper. She had picked the exact words that she had used when she had first met Piper, but Alex was painfully aware that Piper was not responding so after ordering herself a beer and having a few mouthfuls (Dutch courage as her Mom would have called it) Alex decided to address the elephant in the room._

 _"I didn't want you to be exposed to any of this."_

 _"I don't care Alex."_

 _The look on the Pipers face and her curt attitude stated otherwise but Alex knew this was not the time to start poking. If there was one thing they could do without it was the Chapman Temper._

 _"Okay, do you want to talk about it?"_

 _"No thank you."_

 _They slowly sipped their drinks in silence, Alex continued to come up with a suitable explanation to everything that Piper had witnessed. Alex did not want it to sound like she was trying to come up with any excuses for her actions._

 _"I never want you to get involved in any of this."_

 _"I know Al but that person I saw – what you said to Fahri - Brett."_

 _"I was stressed, I didn't mean any of it Pipes, Fahri is like my brother. You try and tell me you never threatened to kill either of yours?"_

 _Alex watched as Piper gaze dropt to her drink, it was clear she was thinking hard on everything that had happened. Alex didn't want to speak in fear of breaking her concentration. So instead Alex focused on her own drink, slowly peeling the label from the bottle. That was when she heard a little timid voice by the side of her._

 _"Did you know only people who are sexually frustrated peel the labels off bottles?"_

 _"Is that so?"_

 _Alex questioned as she looked over at Piper with a small smile dancing across her lips, her comment had been unexpected but defiantly not unwelcome. Piper was smiling too, but Alex noticed that it had not reached her eyes, it was clear she was thinking about a lot but she was making an effort._

 _"Maybe-" Piper moved closer, her left hand started to slowly stroke Alex's arm, immediately, despite everything that had gone on Alex felt her body respond to Pipers touch._

 _"Maybe it is something we can address."_

 _"Pipes, you don't have to-"_

 _But Alex couldn't finish her sentence; she was cut off by Piper placing a finger on her lips before sliding off her stool, taking her girlfriend by the hand and started to lead her out of the bar._

* * *

Alex walked out of the store room come changing room in a pair of baggie, elasticated jeans and horrid maroon jumper. Alex had hoped that when she finally changed out of that horrid kaki scrubs she would feel equal with the guards but it was like she had just gone from one uniform to another. She slowly approached the CO's desk and could not help but notice the guards eyes travel up and down her body with a smirk, Alex could only imagine what he was thinking considering the frumpy outfit.

"You scrub up well Vause."

Alex offered him a small smile, not wishing to verbally accept his compliment. The guard didn't seem to care as he continued to riffle through the chaos of his desk to revel a brown envelope. Alex could see her name scrawled on it before the guard hastily ripped the envelope open and tipped it's content out onto the messy desk. Before Alex could even get a proper look he was hurriedly explaining.

"Personal belongs, left over credit of $68 and your bus voucher."

"Bus voucher? No I am being collected."

"Sorry Vause, no one has come to get you."

Alex felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Was she about to fall down at the last hurdle?

* * *

 **A/N: Congratulations for reaching the end of this chapter! It was a bit of a mammoth but I have enjoyed writing this one and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. I am going to be sticking with my original plan and I am only going to have one more chapter after this one...**

 **However, I have started another fic. It's a Vauseman AU called 'The Review' and I would love it if you took the time have a read of that one!**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows it means the world to me. I love hearing your opinions and if there is anything you would like to see in the last chapter for a flashback then please let me know!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Reason**

Piper had the pedal to the metal; she was obeying no speed limits as she weaved in and out of the traffic acting as if she was in the Indy 500 rather than on the public freeway. Horns blared around her as she cut up car after car not caring about the consequences of her wild driving to the traffic behind her, Piper only had one focus and that was Alex. Suddenly brake lights started to flicker on in front of her, like a tsunami of dread drawing ever closer as one car then the next started to come to a halt. Slamming the steering wheel in pure frustration a tirade of expletives were spat out, cursing everyone who dared share the same space of tarmac with her.

Now that she was stationary Piper's mind started to think about everything her friends and family had said in the recent months. No one had been truly supportive of her decision; they either moved the conversation swiftly on or offered a throw away statement of support which was normally accompanied by a smile that never truly reached their eyes.

It had not taken Piper long to realise that her only true friend in this world was the one sat 'behind bars'. From the moment they had met all those years ago it had all felt different, it was not just the sense of inevitability or purely the passion that made Alex different to everyone else in Piper life, it just felt normal. Nothing was forced; nothing was false it was so natural that everything was second nature.

That was not to say that their relationship was perfect, they fought a lot but although they would shout and butt heads they would always unwind the twisted threads and end back in each other's arms.

-.-.-.-.-.-

 _They sat on a small metal table outside a quiet little café on the harbour edge in Monaco. The warm South France sun beat down upon them causing the ice cubes in Pipers iced tea to melt in the glass. Despite the hustle and bustle of the streets around them a stony silence hung over their table. Alex sat with folded arms, her green eyes were hidden behind a pair of designer sunglasses but Piper could tell that she was watching the petite little waitress as she sauntered from one table to another. Jealousy spiked within her, and all Piper could do in an attempt to keep her temper under control was to look out over the glistening sea. Although the tranquil water restrained her rage it did nothing to calm her internal monologue that was racing at one hundred miles an hour._

 _"You okay?" Alex's voice floated from over the table._

 _"Yeah-fine."_ Piper's _voice was monotone and she could not bring herself to look at Alex._

 _"You seem it." Sarcasm dripped from every word and Piper felt her anger peak._

 _It was not just how her eyes were glued to the arse of the waitress; it was how last night had been disturbed by a series if phone calls and how Alex had disappeared for hours to return late smelling of alcohol. Piper had only been travelling with her for a couple of months and she had already noticed Alex's attention to her was starting to fade, even now after the courteous check-up of her feelings her attention was back on the waitress who was now approaching their table._

 _She stood directly in front of Alex, their eyes meeting with an almost identical smile on each other's faces. When the waitress spoke Piper had expected a French accent to escape her dark red lips but instead they were greeted with a Southern American droll._

 _"Alex Vause, what's a piece of trash like you doin here?"_

 _"Giovani has you paying your way now then Mimie."_

 _Piper could tell there was no love lost between these two; clearly something had happened in the past that had caused them to act so cool to one another. Looking the little woman up and down Piper could not help but wonder if she had been one of Alex former lovers. The feeling of jealousy still refused to subside._

 _"I aint got to give you no explanation. You went and sold us out remember?"_

 _"It was my life or yours, the decision was easy. You would have done the same thing."_

 _Piper shifted nervously in her seat as the two women continued to stare at one another. Alex slowly pulled the sunglasses off her face before gently placing them down on the table. Piper could not help but notice that throughout the interaction those beautiful green eyes never left Mimie's face._

 _"That's in my behind, it don't matta no more, we're all still breathin', that's more than some of the old gang."_

 _"I am glad you said that as I need a favour."_

 _The body language of Mimie change as she shifted her weight from one foot to another and nervously glanced over her shoulders. It was clear she was checking if anyone could overhear them on the table close by._

 _"You think I was born on crazy creek? We ain't in that game no more."_

 _Alex arched an eyebrow as she discretely pulled out a roll of American Dollars along with her phone from her bag. This money was not to pay their drinks bill; instead she put it in the pocket of the apron that Mimie was wearing._

 _"Kubra wants the best."_

 _Mime did not answer the internal struggle that was going on in her head was clear for all to see and Piper wondered if she would crack under Alex's unrelenting gaze. Eventually Mimie gave a defeated huff and left the table, wondering back into the café. Despite herself Piper could not help but find the 'felon' side of Alex and huge turn on. Biting her lower lip Piper found she was unable to look away from Alex as she slipped her sunglasses back on and her attention drifted back to the blonde at the table._

 _"What?" Alex questioned, even behind her sunglasses Piper could feel Alex's eyes upon her._

 _"You, I have never seen you do your thang before." Piper leaned in closer as if she was about to tell a big secret. "It's is so sexy!" _

_Alex gave a low throaty chuckle as she reached across the metal table to take hold of Pipers hands, giving them a little squeeze. "You just wait till we're back at the hotel."_

 _Piper could feel her entire body react immediately to Alex's words, every inch remembered what it felt like to be kissed and caressed by Alex. In an attempt to cool herself down Piper necked the iced tea, quickly crushing the few remaining ice cubes between her teeth, but Alex did not seem to be rushing, in fact she was looking back into the cafe, clearly looking for Mimie once again._

 _"What happened between you two?" Pipers question snapped Alex's focus back to her; curiosity had finally got the better of her._

 _"You want to know if she was the old you don't you?"_

 _"No!"_

 _Yes, she did. Although the initial jealousy had subsided Piper still wanted to know where she stood as she was more than aware that Alex had many notches on her bed post._

 _"We used to work together that's all. I have not shagged every woman in my acquaintance Piper." Alex paused and offered her girlfriend a small smile. "There's at least four women in my address book I haven't slept with."_

 _Piper huffed playfully and wiggled her hand free from Alex's grasp._

 _"You have nothing to worry about Piper. I love you."_

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Piper didn't have anything to worry about, when looking back at their relationship she was always the cause of the hurt, she was the one who walked away or due to her actions, left Alex with no other choice but to walk away. But no more! This was the time she proved all the doubters wrong.

* * *

 **Litchfield Penitentiary**

Alex paced back and forth over the small area in front of the CO's desk. Her right hand was lost in the black mess of hair that was her fringe. This could not be happening to her, not now she was standing in the horrid, cheap baggy jeans and marron sweater. This had been their great plan, something they had discussed at great lengths during visitation which had now become a weekly occurrence. She knew Piper was on her way, she had spoken to her, so something must have delayed her. Alex just needed to buy some time for them both.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Alex held her head up high and approached the guard with an air of confidence. She may have spent years in prison 'reforming' but she still knew the tricks she had picked up as a drug dealer.

"Can I make a phone call please?" She causally leaned on the desk acting more like she was checking out of a hotel form a romantic weekend away rather than checking out of prison.

"Sorry Miss Vause, inmates can't-"

"But I am no longer an inmate?"

Alex raised an eyebrow as her green eyes locked onto the guards. He looked over nervously at the other guard who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine, one phone call, but it best be quick as the minibus is waiting."

Repeatedly thanking the guard she waited for him to place the phone in front of her before deliberately taking her time to dial Pipers mobile number. As she lifted the receiver to her ear Alex could hear the dull dialling tone ring, with everyone that past Alex dreaded the cheery voice of Pipers answer message. The dialling stopped, there was silence and then the distant sound of what Alex guessed was a car horn.

"Piper?"

"Alex! I am here!" There was another blast on the horn which came from Pipers end of the phone line.

"Piper where are you?"

"In a mother fucking jam surrounded by arsehole drivers!"

There was another blast of the car horn, blocking out more of Pipers rant of expletives. The news was not what Alex wanted to hear, she wanted to know that Piper was pulling up the prison drive way, not stuck in a traffic jam.

"Shit, Pipes the bus is waiting for me."

"What!" Alex could hear the panic creeping into Pipers voice, overriding the rage. That was when there was another short, sharp blast of the horn and Alex had to hold the received slightly away from her ear. "Even in flowing traffic I will be another twenty minutes."

Alex looked at the clock and tried to work out how they are going to kill that much time. She nervously started to tap her fingers on the desk simply listening to the noise being generated by Pipers car.

"I hate waiting for you." Alex jeered, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"I know Al."

-.-.-.-.-.-

 _Alex stared at her reflection in the mirror, tilting her head slightly to the left then the right as she checked her make-up. Satisfied with the result Alex placed her eyeliner back onto the dressing table before standing up and flattening the creases in her black dress. Her soundtrack to getting ready had come from the other side of the bathroom door. A chorus of splashes and the occasional burst of out of tune singing of hits from the 90's._

 _Slowly sauntering over to the bathroom door Alex rapped her knuckles lightly against it. She did not enter however; instead she chose to simply talk through the wood of the door._

 _"Come on Madonna time to get out!"_

 _"Madonna?! Al, you are so far behind Pop Culture."_

 _Alex could hear Pipers laughter as the splashing continued. With a huff Alex knocked on the door again, this time with a bit more force. She was starting to feel like an impatient Mom trying to get their child ready for school and Piper was playing the role of the teenager to perfection._

 _"Five more minutes Al I promise."_

 _Without acknowledging her Alex walked away from the bathroom door out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She glanced nervously at the clock on the over noting that the car would be coming to pick them up in ten minutes._

 _Piper has pestered Alex for weeks now to do something special for their six month anniversary despite Alex's protests that it can't be an anniversary as that is defined as a yearly occurrence and the last time she checked a year was twelve months and not six. But being a love struck fool Alex quickly gave in to Pipers demands and had planned an evening of romance. She had booked them into the fanciest restaurant in town, ordered a private car to drive them to wherever the moment took them and hopefully back to their apartment where Alex would have champagne on ice and Pipers favourite Belgium Chocolates waiting._

 _It had surprised Alex how much she wanted tonight to go well, she had never been one to do the whole romantic gestures but then Alex never really did relationships in the first place! But there was something about Piper that was different and Alex was starting to realise that maybe she will always be different, even if in years down the line they were no longer together (at the mere thought of this Alex guts twisted into knots) then Piper would always hold a special place in her heart._

 _Trying to shake off these new emotions and the dry throat that was forming she poured herself a glass of water. Slowly sipping the cool liquid Alex's mind began to whirl once more as she looked at the photos that were pinned to their fridge. It had been the most amazing six months of her life and not even the dress of work was able to bring her down from this high._

 _Placing the now empty glass on the work surface Alex wondered back toward the bedroom expecting to see Piper getting read but instead the room was empty._

 _"So help me god Piper Chapman if you are still in that bath!"_

 _Bursting through into the bathroom Alex just caught the top of her blonde head dip down into the water as she submerged here whole body. With a few quick strides Alex was over by the freestanding bath, leaning over the bath looking down upon the distorted image of her girlfriend's naked body. However even through the water and bubbles she could make out the childish smile on Pipers face. That should have been her first sign that she was up to something but before Alex could move away Piper emerged from the water with bloated cheeks before she quickly sprayed the water from her mouth like a water pistol right into Alex's face._

 _Alex didn't make a sound as she looked over the top of her water stained glasses at Piper, water was dripping from her nose and the time she had spent doing her make-up had now been wasted as her mascara and eyeliner ran down her cheeks like black tears. Silently she pulled the hand towel off the rail and patted her face dry, she could hear Piper desperately trying to sound earnest but the giggles that interjected her apologetic words made Alex think they were not sincere._

 _Slowly Alex made it look like she was about to turn and leave the bathroom but with lighting quick actions she dropt the towel and plunged her hands into the bathwater, her fingers grasped the thin metal chain and with a small tug the rubber plug came out of the drain. The pipes gurgled as the water began to whirl down the drain and with a playful splash at Piper Alex left the bathroom to a chorus of crude names and a smile on her face._

 _For the second time that night Alex sat at the dressing table studying her reflection in the mirror as she applied her second batch of makeup. With one last flick of the mascara brush Alex noticed that she was no longer alone in the bedroom._

 _"That was cruel."_

 _Piper wrapped her still moist arms loosely around Alex's as they both studied their reflections in the mirror, Alex in her black dress while Piper wore nothing. Tilting her head up Alex looked upon Pipers face noticing the glimmer of joy in her girlfriends blue eyes._

 _"You started it."_

 _Alex mumbled her voice was low and seductive and apparently Piper could not resist as their lips met with a soft kiss. Alex longed to take the kiss deeper but the sound of the apartment buzzer broke their moment._

 _"I best go get that, you hurry up and get ready!"_

 _With one last quick kiss Alex rose from the dressing table walked from the bedroom to the apartment intercom where the person on the street still impatiently pressed the buzzer._

 _"Hello."_

 _"Hi, Miss Vause your car is here."_

 _"We will be down in five minutes."_

 _Striding back into the bedroom with purpose Alex had hoped to find Piper on her way to getting dressed but instead she was still greeted with the sight of her naked girlfriend sitting on their bed. Normally Alex would never complain about this but today, but with a car waiting and their dinner reservations in forty-five minutes Alex need to get this party moving._

 _"Who was it?" Piper asked idly as she lifted her left leg onto the bed and started to rub moisturiser over her exposed skin._

 _"Our ride for the night, I told them to wait." Alex glanced nervously at her watch, starting to feel the stress of wanting everything to be perfect for Piper._

 _"Chill Al, this is meant to be an enjoyable night." Piper offered Alex a small smile before lying down on the bed in her attempt of an alluring pose. Her attempt was successful and Alex felt herself go weak at the knees and her whole body screamed for Piper. Like a Siren calling out to her Alex found herself slowly walking towards the bed, her eyes were travelling up and down Pipers body and although it was a road she had travelled before Alex always enjoyed the experience._

 _Before Alex knew it their bodies where entwined, they were moving as one as their bodies cried out for each other. Their kisses grew deeper and more passionate and Piper's skilled hands had unzipped Alex's dress and she was now tugging at it, quickly exposing Alex's breasts._

 _But for the second time that night their moment was disturbed by the intercom buzzing in the lounge, snapping Alex out of her trance. With a groan she knew they could not carry on if they were to make their reservations but this did not seem to faze Piper as she pulled Alex towards her once again._

 _"Pipes, what about dinner."_

 _"Fuck dinner, let's have a take out."_

 _"But what about our anniversary?"_

 _"Alex, you are all I want."_

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Alex could not help but smile into the phone handset at the memories of her and Piper, the memories of their previous life together.

"I bet you have turned into stressy Alex now."

Her attention snapped back to Piper at this comment and she did not know if she should take offence to the clearly playful voice of Piper.

"I don't know what you mean." Alex decided to play along.

She heard a small chuckle from Piper over the sound of the road.

"I bet your glasses are on top of your head, your sleeves rolled up and you're drumming your fingers."

Alex huffed as she slipped her glasses down back onto her nose and pulled her jumper sleeves down to cover her bare arms. She hated Piper being right all the time and she knew it!

"I am guessing by that silence I was correct."

"You are not always right Piper."

"No, I am half left."

Alex let out a groan at Pipers awful joke; it was something that Alex expected a Dad or an elderly uncle would say, not her hot on and off again girlfriend.

"That was terrible, Pipes."

Glancing back up to the clock on the wall Alex was disheartened to see that so little time had passed and it was clear the guard was beginning to get agitated and he started to make hand signals for her to start wrapping up the phone call. Turning her back on him Alex began to twist the cord around her finger as her voice dropt low.

"I can't wait for you to get here babe."

"I know Al, me neither. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning."

"Well that's lucky because I am ready for you to open me up like Christmas."

There was no response.

 **Piper's car – A ten minute drive from Litchfield**

Piper's cheeks were burning red hot at Alex's last statement. Their last night together had been on her last night in Prison. It had been a night of love and passion and one that she still thought about while dating Charles (he could not compare) and it was defiantly something she hoped to recreate sooner rather than later but having Alex reference it made everything so real.

"Pipes are you still there."

Alex's voice penetrated her world and stopped the memories playing like an old home movie in her head.

"Yeah still here Al, just – lost in my memories, it's happened a lot today."

A small smile danced across Pipers face, the prospect of being with her best friend, the woman she loved was getting closer with every mile that ticked by. The emotion swelled up in her chest and throat causing Piper to grip the steering wheel tighter.

"I love you Alex."

She could hear Alex's intake of breath down the phone line, before her low, raspy whisper followed.

"I love you too Piper." There was a brief pause before Alex spoke again. "Now get you skinny ass here and get me out!"

Piper tried to act affronted by the comment but she soon found herself laughing.

"This piece of ass is around ten minutes away, so be patient."

Piper could hear talking on the line, the distant sound of a man's voice that seemed to be challenging Alex.

"Pipes I have to go, they are taking me now."

"Put me on to him."

Piper's voice was so commanding that Alex followed obediently, there was more background talking and Piper was greeted with the sound of a man's voice.

"Hello Miss Chapman."

"Please don't send Alex away yet. I will be there in ten minutes."

"We shall go to the main entrance; if you are not there then she goes on the bus."

"Thank you!"

The phone line went dead. Piper knew she could not afford anymore hold ups!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 _Piper walked into their lounge from the kitchen and her eyes were automatically drawn to the lump on the sofa. Carefully she placed down the steaming mug of sweet tea onto the coffee table then slowly sat down on the sofa trying desperately to make as little noise as possible in fear of waking the slumbering Alex. So far so good, it looked like Alex was truly out for the count! Maybe she could even risk a bit of TV. Reaching forward Piper carefully picked up the remote control, gently pressing the stand by button Piper quickly hovered her finger over the volume control ready to turn it down if required. Luckily it was a quiet news article meaning that Alex was not disturbed._

 _Time slowly ticked by the news finished and one of the many daytime soap operas were playing out on the screen while Piper slowly sipped her tea and that was when the first movements started. From underneath the tartan patterned fleece blanket came the messy dark hair of Alex Vause. Her pale face was in stark contrast to her red nose and puffy eyes that strained to see as her thick framed glasses lay strewn on the floor._

 _"What time is it?" Alex's voice was barely a whisper; her usual seductive tone was broken and hoarse._

 _"Almost five pm sweetie."_

 _It was a rare thing for Alex to be ill, the confident woman that Piper had fallen in love with now didn't seem as strong, and in fact she seemed quite defenceless. Reaching out Piper gently stroked Alex's now exposed upper arm, managing to coax a small smile out of her girlfriend._

 _"Can I get you anything Al?"_

 _Alex simply shook her head and tried to push herself up on the sofa causing a small coughing fit. Piper could only frown; she hated seeing Alex like this but knew that even ill Alex would remain proud._

 _"Maybe new sinuses?" Alex tease, causing another coughing fit._

 _"I can't do that, but I can get you some water." Piper started to move to stand up when she felt a strong arm wrap it's self around her, clearly she was not allowed to leave. Piper was about to protest when she heard one croaky word from Alex. "Stay."_

 _Leaning back into the sofa Piper opened her arms allowing Alex to rest her head upon her chest. Even over the sound of the TV Piper could hear the contented sign that escaped Alex. She may act tough in front of her friends but when it was just the two of them Alex was a pussycat._

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Piper smiled contently to herself at the memories of their past life together. So far their story had been made up of two parts; before prison and during prison. They were now entering the third, after Prison. A new adventure of a new them and as Piper saw the first road signs to the prison she knew that story was about to start.

 **Litchfield Penitentiary**

Alex stepped out into the mild spring air. She breathed in deeply letting the cold air penetrate her sinuses and awaken her desire for freedom. In front of her sat the white mini bus with the passenger door slid open waiting for her. Shifting the few personal possessions she had in her hands up took one last look at the place that had been her home for so long. Alex was about to step into the minibus when she heard a distant banging, looking back towards the main building of the prison she could see a group of kaki clad standing at the window women and at the forefront was Nicky waving like a lunatic. With a small wave at her friends Alex stepped into the minibus she hated goodbyes.

The driver was a girl she didn't know, the guard was another newbie who looked fresh from high school. They seemed to be talking about some pop culture TV show that Alex knew nothing about so instead she looked out the window, watching the slow passing of the chain-link fences.

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

 _"Y'all heard, new inmates are arriving today." Alex Vause looked up from the over starched pair of XXL underpants she was folding. The days in the laundrette of the prison were long and tedious when you only had these Southern meth heads to listen too. They continued to bitch and moan about the new, make believe, in mates with some comments said louder than others as they purposely tried to bait Alex (this had become their new favourite game since she started working here) but she would not snap._

 _As four in the afternoon hit 'work' was over for another day, slowly the crowds of inmates filled the prison corridors. Free from the horrid heat of the laundry room Alex removed her glasses and wiped her brow on the sleeve of her long sleeved white top. It was in this moment the newbies walked past to the whistles and cat-calls of the inmates and in her out of focus world Alex thought she saw a face that was familiar. "Fuck me." She muttered under her breath, fumbling quickly to reinstate her glasses upon her face, her world snapped back into HD just as the blonde haired woman vanished from view._

 _Alex felt as if she was glued to the spot, fellow prisoners barged past but even then nothing would move her from where she stood. Her heart was in her mouth, she never thought she would see Piper again. Time lost all meaning and Alex was unsure if she had been standing there for one minute or ten but the sound of a whistle brought Alex back into the real world and she saw a hand waving in front of her._

 _"Yo Vause! Earth of Vause!" It was Nicky Nichols. In the few weeks Alex had been in Litchfield Nicky had felt the only person she would have been friends with outside the chain linked fences. "Fuck me Vause; you look like you've seen a ghost!"_

 _"I think I just did."_

 _With a quizzical look Nicky seemed to simply shrug her shoulder as she pulled her radio from her trouser pocket. She put one headphone in but left the other out as she took one last searching glance at Alex._

 _"Best get back for count. I imagine Lorna will take them the long way around so I should get back in time to act my normal no fucks giving self when the newbies arrive. I will let you know if there is anyone interesting."_

 _Alex hoped that Nicky never found out how interesting her and Pipers history truly was, but something told her that this may not have been the last time this topic will arise. With a deep breath Alex mustered the will to move and headed back to the dorm. Her mind was a swilling mess of memories and emotions she thought she had left behind in the past._

 _The hours seemed to blur together as she sat on her bunk, trying to ignore the looks of the other woman._

 _"Are you okay Vause?" The soft voice of Yoga Jones penetrated the silence. "You look very pale."_

 _"I think I am coming down with something."_

 _She had a readymade excuse being handed to her on a plate and Alex greedily took it with both hands. Feigning sickness would mean she could skip the evening meal, giving more time to get over the shock and delay the inevitable meeting with Piper._

 _In the empty dormitory Alex lay staring at the ceiling on her bunk. Now the initial shock had passed her mind was now figuring how she was going to spend the first part of her sentence (she knew she would have longer then Piper) living with the person that she had named, the person who was only in here because of her! Guilt was not something Alex felt often but this was one thing she could not escape. The problem was the guilt was tinged with anger; Piper broke her heart and left her when she needed her the most. The pain was still raw after all those years. _

_The dorm started to fill up, the quite that allowed Alex to think was shattered with laughter and shouts of her fellow inmates. No one tried to talk to her, maybe word had spread of her 'illness' and Alex was thankful._

 _She had dozed off, Alex found herself back in her old apartment, lying on the sofa she could hear a noise behind her in the kitchen, it was the sound of draws opening and closing._

 _"Where the fuck did you put it Alex?" It was Pipers accusing voice. As Alex pushed herself up off the sofa, she could only see the back of Pipers head as she continued to open up draws and cupboard._

 _"Where is what Pipes?"_

 _"You know bitch!" Still she did not look at her and Alex started to feel agitated._

 _"Piper look at me!" Piper stopped but and still all Alex could see was the back of her head, her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail showing off the tattoo of the tropical fish that sat on the back of her neck. Rising up off the sofa Alex quickly strode across the width of the apartment towards Piper, she reached out for her shoulder and it was in that instant Piper finally turned around, but it was no longer Piper before her, but her Mom. Alex stepped back in shock as she looked upon her mother's tired face._

 _"I am so disappointed with you Alex. You have let me down."_

 _She tried to protest but no sound was made, all she could hear was the words of disappoint from her mother. In desperation knowing that if she could not argue then she would have to run, Alex turned to flee but instead of facing the lounge she found herself standing in the corridors of the prison. Just like today she watched the orange clad women pass, but unlike earlier Piper stopped in front of her, and looked at her with eyes that Alex felt could see right into her very soul. That was when Alex noticed the walls of the corridor were getting closer, her chest got tighter and as she tried to move her legs would not respond._

 _With a jolt Alex woke up, her chest was heaving, her brow was covered in a film of sweat. The room was dark, although it felt like she had been asleep for minutes it clearly had been hours. Trying to make herself comfortable once more she knew that sleep would avoid her as she kept replaying the dream over and over in her head. Alex knew that she was going to have to confront Piper, get the first meeting out of the way and from there they could be civil._

 _In the morning Alex had overslept after spending the vast majority of the night before planning on how she would approach Piper. By the time she approached the canteen Alex could hear a commotion, there where howls of laughter, Nicky was waving what looked like a bloody tampon in the air and Alex spotted an orange blur leaving out the fire escape. Instinctively Alex knew it was Piper and without a moment of hesitation Alex followed, her long strides quickly covering the ground between them. Nothing she had planned to say seemed to suit the situation of Piper bending over having a panic attack. Slowly she approached, her boots splashing in the puddles causing Piper to raise her head. Their eyes met and Alex felt a wave of nostalgia flood over her, here stood the only woman she had ever loved (other than her Mother) and the words just seemed to tumble out of her mouth._

 _"Maybe this is a bad time to say hi."_

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Alex could not help but smile as she remembered the moment Piper had screamed in her face. It was something they could laugh about afterwards but at the time it felt like Piper had ripped her heart out anew. From then she had made every effort for Piper to like her again, and as she thought back to her first Thanksgiving and their time in the chapel she must have done something right.

The sound of the minibus door sliding open and it banging against its stoppers brought Alex's focus back to the present. The mild spring air blew into the open side of the minibus, penetrating her cocoon of warmth. The guard motioned for her to get out and willingly she followed, her gaze looking down the long driveway, there was no car in sight. The guard coughed signalling for her to keep moving and reluctantly she agreed, deliberately dragging her feet along the gravel pathway. With every noise Alex looked over her shoulder, slowly finding her frustration levels increasing at every distant yell from the prison or the rustle of the wind through the trees. With one last longing look over her shoulder Alex hoped she would see the little white car appear over the horizon but still there was nothing.

Inside the main entrance hall Alex looked around at all the poster's that lined the walls. The place looked exactly the same as it had done all those years ago when she had entered the prison for the second time.

"You could use a lick of paint in here" She stated drily to the bored looking guard who slowly walked bedside her.

"Well maybe when you are back here you can paint it." The female guard who sat behind the desk did not even look up from her pile of paperwork but Alex could sense the scorn in her words. Diverting her gaze from the dragon behind the desk Alex kept telling herself to focus on the end goal, Piper.

"Papers." The brown envelope that Alex was holding onto was snatched from her grasp by the old guard and its contents tipped over the messy desk. Alex felt like her privacy was being invaded as the old croon held up every item, peering at every photo with her misty eyes, her mono-brow pinched together and slowly a smile creased her already wrinkled features as she turned her piercing gaze onto Alex.

"So you are Miss Chapman's friend." Alex's heart fluttered at the mention of Piper. But it appeared the old witch was not going to elaborate anymore and moved on to reading Alex's official letters, including the one that had given her the best news ever.

-.-.-.-.-.-

 _Alex sat on the bottom bunk in the little white walled cubical that had been her home for so many years. She had seen people come and go, some serving a couple of months for petti crimes, others starting their long journey just like her. Today was the day this all could change, the end goal of her 'Days till freedom' tally chart could be sliced and instead of another two years it could be mere months, all she had to do was open the letter she held in her hands._

 _It had been two hours since mail call, as soon as she had seen the stamp on the back Alex knew what it was but like Schrödinger's cat until she tore open the envelope she could still dream of an early release. Alex was still at rock bottom and she found it hard to believe that anything good could ever happen again. Gently she started to peel the flap of the envelope open, watching the glue slowly separate from the paper. Alex was taking it slow, trying to prolong the inevitable disappointment when she heard the dull thud of thick souled boots enter the cubical._

 _"Yo Vause, you opened your letter yet?"_

 _It was Nicky, they had both been called up for mail call, handed identical envelopes in shape, size and thickness. Nicky had ripped hers open there and then and Alex could only watch as the normally loud woman's face dropt and she fell extremely quiet. Nicky's application for early release had been rejected._

 _"No, I can't seem to bring myself to do it."_

 _"I wouldn't bother." Nicky sat down on the bunk opposite; there was still an air of disappointment around her. "I have spoken to the other five and not a single one has been granted. I bet they have gone over their fucking quota!"_

 _Alex's head dropt as she looked down at the envelope, she had not realised how much she had riding on this moment. The moment she got her ticket back home, her ticket back to Piper. She let out a long breath and tossed the still unopened letter at Nicky._

 _"You open it."_

 _It was a demand rather than a question as she lay back on her bed, staring at the photo of Piper she had stuck to the base of the bunk above. Alex's gaze remained fixed on the Piper in the photo as she listened to the rip of the envelope, the hasty unfolding of the letter and quick, quiet mutterings of Nicky reading the letter._

 _"I am so sorry Alex."_

 _There it was that sick feeling, the kick in the gut and the tightening of the airways. Her vision of the photo of Piper grew blurry as her eyes prickled and threatened to show her true emotions and shatter the tough façade. Alex could not bring herself to look at Nicky, she wanted to be alone, but Nicky didn't seem to be going anywhere, in fact she continued to talk._

 _"It looks like you've enjoyed your last Christmas in prison."_

 _Alex sat bolt upright and turned to stare at Nicky, if she was joking then this was one sick joke but as Alex's green eyes searched Nicky face she could see no hint of a lie. Reaching out Alex snatched the A4 sheet of paper out of Nicky's hands and greedily read every word._

 _"Three months."_

 _Her voice wavered as she read the letter over and over again; she needed to get in touch with Piper. Glancing up at the clock above the CO's room Alex thanks every possible deity when she noticed that it was still their timeslot for making phone calls. Without a second glance at Nicky Alex shot out of the dorm and into the corridor. Alex ignored the succession of shouts from various guards reminding her of the no running policy. She could get a shot for all she cared, the fear and despair had been replaced with euphoria, no drug would or could every replicate this high!_

 _With the battered phone receiver in one hand her fingers danced over the keypad, typing in Pipers number. As the phone dialled out Alex found herself jigging up and down like a child who had had too much sugar._

 _"Hello." Alex could just about make out Pipers voice over the sound of the wind howling past her mobile._

 _"Pipes can you hear me?"_

 _"Al, Hang on." Alex heard movement at the end of the line, then the sound of a door opening and a little bell tingling above the door. She could hear Pipers shoes tapping on the wooden floor as she made her way into the shop._

 _"Where are you?" Alex questioned her curiosity momentarily out weighting her excitement._

 _"Erm-some antique shop. There are loads of dusty old mirrors, boxes of rubbish and old book shelves full of books." Piper paused before her tone changed ever so slightly. "You would love this Al."_

 _"You can take me there in two months."_

 _"Of course I will." Piper had not clicked; Alex dared not speak, waiting for the penny to drop. "Wait-what did you just say?"_

 _Alex chuckled down the receiver._

 _"I got my letter. My appeal was successful."_

 _There was silence at the end of the line; Alex heard the tinkle of the shop door in the background so she knew that the phone had not died. Then Alex heard a noise she had never heard Piper make before, it was what could only be described as a squeal of delight. "Oh Alex, read me the letter."_

 _So she did, taking her time to stress all the right points, making sure every word was pronounced coherently for Piper to hear down the phone. At the end there was a pause and Alex waiting patiently for Piper to respond._

 _"Oh Alex, you are coming home!"_

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

"They shouldn't be letting your kind out anyway!" The croaky old voice of the witch behind the desk snapped Alex back to reality. "You will just be back here in six months when you break your parole again." She sneered at Alex over her round, thin framed glasses, almost as if she was egging Alex to fight.

"Well this time it's different." Alex stated defiantly, folding her arms.

"Why's that?"

Alex hesitated as so many reasons revealed themselves in her mind. She started compiling a mental list so long that your hand would get cramp after only writing half of it. But the reason at the top was obvious, Piper. Piper would keep her honest; their love would keep her true. She had worked too darn hard to get her freedom to let it slip through her fingers now. Since the heart break in Paris all those years ago on the day she lost the two most important people in her life, it all started to make sense again. Her and Piper had fallen back into each other, back into each other's arms and back in love. In those first few months in prison where their romance took up once more they had sat on Alex's bunk and she told Piper.

 _"I'm not planning anything. I don't know what's gonna happen and that's the point of being with me. If you wanna have babies and remodel your bathroom then, please go. Do. Nest."_

At that moment she felt that way, she was still living in the past. That was not to say prison had reformed her, Alex would never have a five year plan, heck five months would be pushing it but she wanted that bit of stability. She wanted a life with Piper and if that meant living in the suburbs with a dog called Rex then that was the adventure she was willing to have if it meant she could fall asleep every night with Piper as her little spoon.

With a deep breath Alex drew herself to her full height and looked the old guard up and down.

"I don't need to give you a reason for anything."

Alex raised an eyebrow as she challenged the guard who clearly had heard and seen it all before. Haphazardly she stamped documents with a big rubber stamp before she started shoving Alex's belongings back into the brown envelope, and thrust it back into her arms without ceremony.

"Have a nice life." Her voice held no emotion and did not even offer a smile to compliment her statement.

"Ten minutes, time to go Vause." The male guard said as he pushed open the door back outside and pointed for Alex to follow once more. She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again knowing it would be futile.

"It has not been ten minutes yet!" Alex protested. The guard simply shrugged

She was about to leave prison, this should have been a joyful occasion but instead she felt miserable. Her head was bent low looking at the cheap $2 dollar canvas shoes she wore. In hindsight Alex was not sure how she missed the sound of the loose gravel drive crunching under the weight of the cars tyres, or the sound of it skidding to a halt, doors flying open and the radio within blaring out but the one noise she did hear was her name being cried out.

"Alex!"

Quickly lifting her head Alex began to sprint towards Piper, initially finding it weird that no one yelled at her stop running and with a few strides they were standing in front of one another. Alex felt awkward, she had played this moment over and over in her head in recent days and now it was finally here she did not know what to do. She felt like an awkward school girl standing in front of her crush not knowing what t do with her hands.

"Hi Pipes."

"Hey."

Breathing in deeply to steady her nerves Alex stepped forwards, closing the gap between them in one stride. That was when she felt Piper hands on her pulling her in, their bodies pressed up against each other and their lips crashed together. The raw passion of the kiss caused a wave of warmth and desire to spread over Alex body. She dropt her brown envelope on the floor to allow both her hands the freedom to move over Pipers body. The kiss deepened, their tongues slid passed` one another and Alex could feel Pipers cold hands slip underneath her jumper, making their way up to her chest.

There was a high pitched whistle behind them which caused them both to snap out of their intimate moment. In Alex's mind it had been just the two of them, she had quite forgotten they had an audience. Looking over her shoulder the guard shouted to the both of them.

"You may not be inmates anymore but for public decency please stop that."

With a dismissive wave of her hand at the guard Alex rested her forehead against Pipers before taking a long breath, enjoying every moment.

"I am so glad you are here."

"Me too." Piper gave Alex a light kiss before stepping away. "Come on let's get you home."

Piper took a hold of Alex's hand, bent down to pick up the envelope on the ground before slowly leading her towards the little car whose engine was still running and music still playing.

Once they were in the car Alex fell silent as she looked back at Litchfield for the last time. So much had happened in that building. She was a different person, but the biggest change was the person sitting right next to her. Litchfield had brought Alex and Piper back together. It had allowed them to continue their story after the heartbreak of Paris. Alex had never stopped loving Piper, prison allowed that love to be free once more and now it was open Alex was never going to let that go again.

"I heart you Piper." Alex smiled softy as she reached across and rested her hand on Pipers leg.

"I heart you too."

 **The End**

 **A/N: Well there you have it. Thank you for sticking with me and I apologise for the delay in getting this last chapter up. I could give you a list of excuses but it is what it is. We got there in the end!**

 **Thank you again for all those of you who have read and reviewed, trust me it has kept me going. You are all amazing and I really do appreciate every word! A special shout out to RJ Vause who really has been my sounding board, idea prompter and more importantly my friend (blah soppy)**

 **If you liked this then check out my other story The Review…I will update that one soon too**!


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